


you don't have to love me (i won't put you through that)

by Schriftstellerexcerpts



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015), Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Adopted!Alex Danvers, Alternate Universe - High School, Boston Accent, Established Alex Danvers/Maggie Sawyer, Established Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught, F/F, Nicole Haught Backstory, Wayhaught - Freeform, WynHaught - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-07-24 10:28:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 27,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16173233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schriftstellerexcerpts/pseuds/Schriftstellerexcerpts
Summary: Nicole bounced up and down on her toes. She was never a patient person. “When is my mama comin’ to pick me up, sir? She told me that I’d only be here a week and I think it’s been passed that.”She doesn’t see the way Nedley takes in a sharp breath. “I’m afraid I don’t know when she’s coming, Nicole.”“It’s just that I’ve tried callin’ her and she hasn’t answered,” Nicole told him. “My pop hasn’t answered, either. Do you know why that is, sir?”“I don’t,” Nedley shook his head. “You’re safe to stay here while you wait, though.”Nicole smiled. “Thank you, sir,” she replied.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, all! This is something that I have been working on and I wanted to put the first bit out there to see what you all think. I'm not sure how often it'll be updated. Let me know what you think and thank you for reading (:

“I’m out,” Nicole says. It’s early in the morning; too early for Nicole’s liking. She’s wearing black jeans with a black muscle tee tucked in, and a black leather jacket. Her short, red hair is down and wavy.

 

“You didn’t eat breakfast,” Nedley tells her. He’s sitting at the table in the kitchen, a plate full of bacon, eggs, and toast in front of him. He’s holding his navy blue Purgatory PD coffee mug in his hand.

 

Nicole opens the refrigerator and grabs a nice, cold apple. “Breakfast,” she observes, holding the apple in the air. She adjusts her backpack on her back and fishes her motorcycle keys out of her pocket.

 

Nedley sighs. “You had better actually eat that damn thing, Nicole,” he warns. “Don’t think I haven’t seen the ones you threw in the bushes.”

 

“Sir, yes, sir,” Nicole says sarcastically before taking a huge bite out of the apple. She chews and swallows before adding, “See you later.”

 

“I expect you home for dinner,” Nedley tells her before taking a drink of his coffee. “You, too, Chrissy,” he says to Chrissy, who has just walked into the kitchen.

 

“Of course, daddy,” Chrissy smiles, her eyes glued to her phone. “Can Waves come over, too?”

 

“Absolutely,” Nedley says.

 

“Then Wynonna gets to come over, too,” Nicole speaks, looking from Chrissy to Nedley.

 

“Yes, Wynonna can come, too,” Nedley assures Nicole. “And no funny business with Waverly,” he tells her, looking her straight in the eye. “From now on, your bedroom door will be open when she’s in there with you.”

 

Nicole sighs and rolls her eyes. “But-“

 

“No arguments, Nicole,” Nedley says firmly. “And start wearing a damn helmet when you drive your motorcycle. The next time one of my officer’s sees you not wearing one, you’re grounded for a week.”

 

Nicole clenches her jaw, biting her tongue. “Yes, sir,” she mutters before turning on her heels and leaving the house. She throws the apple into the bush, then climbs onto her motorcycle. She makes sure to put her helmet on because being grounded means not seeing the Earp’s and she doesn’t want that. She starts the engine and revs it before skirting off and heading towards the school.

 

She thinks about how this isn’t how she pictured her life. She thought that when her parents said they were sending her to Canada to stay with her aunt for a week that, that meant she was simply staying with her aunt for a week. She didn’t know that meant she would never see them again. She was twelve-years-old. She should’ve known she didn’t have an aunt that lived in Canada; should’ve known that her parents were just trying to get rid of her.

 

Don’t get her wrong, the Nedley’s are great. Randy took her in when she got here, although she still isn’t quite clear on how that came to be. How did he know that she didn’t have a family here? How did he know her name? How did he know _her_? She has never asked him these questions, though. She’s not sure if she’s scared of asking them or if she’s scared of the answers.

 

Although she’s not sure how or why she ended up living with the Nedley’s, she isn’t complaining. They put a roof over her head and put food on the table for her. She’s never gone as far as to call Nedley her dad or Chrissy her sister, but the unsaid words linger on her tongue. She’ll say them one day.

 

She pulls up to Purgatory High and parks her bike right next to Wynonna’s, who is leaning against the pole right in front of where her bike is parked. Nicole shuts her bike off and takes off her helmet.

 

“‘sup, turd,” Wynonna greets her, a smile on her face. She’s dressed in a similar outfit to Nicole’s, except her t-shirt is white.

 

“Hey,” Nicole says, her Boston accent thick this morning. She figured that it would lessen with living in a small town for around seven years, but it hasn’t yet. It’s really the only part of Boston she has left. “You’re coming over for dinner tonight.”

 

“What’s the ole sheriff cooking?” Wynonna asks, watching as Nicole gets off her motorcycle and hooks her helmet on one of the handles.

 

Nicole shrugs. “I don’t know,” she replies. “But it had better not be Brussels.”

 

Wynonna laughs softly. “Brussels are-“

 

“The _worst_ ,” Nicole finishes before the two of them make their way toward the main entrance of the school. “Where’s Waverly?” She asks as they walk the halls towards their lockers, which happen to be located right next to each other.

 

“Gus brought her early this morning,” Wynonna informs her. “I think she had to tutor someone.”

 

They reach their lockers and Nicole opens hers. “She’s comin’ over for dinner, too,” she tells Wynonna as she shoves her backpack into her locker. “And Nedley told me that I can no longer have my door shut when she’s in my room with me.”

 

Wynonna scoffs. “But you can have it open when I’m in there with you?” She questions. “How does he know we aren’t bangin’?”

 

Nicole smirks, wiggling her eyebrows. “He doesn’t.”

 

“Watch your step, Naughty Haughty,” Wynonna responds, smiling wickedly. “You keep it up and I might just have to beg you to leave my little sister for me.”

 

Nicole laughs. “As if,” she says. “You’re way too into Holliday to even consider pursuingme.”

 

“Jealous?”

 

“Always,” Nicole teases, grabbing her science book out of her locker. “I’ll see you in the woods for lunch?”

 

“I’ll be there,” Wynonna confirms before shutting her locker and walking off, flipping off some boys who whistle at her.

 

Nicole shuts her locker and is met with a beautiful girl staring at her. “Well, if it isn’t my girlfriend,” she says, smiling. “How beautiful does she look today, guys?!” Nicole shouts, making everyone look at them. She wraps her free arm around Waverly’s waist and kisses her cheek.

 

Waverly blushes. “Do you have to do that every single morning?”

 

Nicole nods her head, kissing her way down Waverly’s neck. “I do,” she replies. “I have to remind everyone that you’re the most beautiful girl in the world.”

 

Waverly tangles her fingers in Nicole’s hair, angling her neck so that Nicole has more room to kiss. “Do you say that to all the pretty girls, Nicole Haught?”

 

Nicole laughs against her neck. “No,” she says. “Just you,” she adds. “Only ever you.”

 

“Good,” Waverly smiles, gently tugging on Nicole’s hair, beckoning her to kiss her on the lips.

 

Nicole does so and slips her tongue into Waverly’s mouth. She loves this; making out with her girl against the lockers. She lets her science book fall to the ground with a loud thud, but she’s too into Waverly to care. She wraps her arms around Waverly’s waist and slowly lets them fall onto her ass, squeezing gently. Waverly moans into her mouth and pulls her impossibly closer.

 

“Haught!”

 

Nicole jumps and pulls away from Waverly. Her lips are bruised and she’s sure she has some of Waverly’s lipgloss on them. She blinks a few times before focusing on Mr. Lee sternly staring at her.

 

“Are you not familiar with our rules against PDA?” Mr. Lee asks, his arms crossed at his chest.

 

Nicole looks at Waverly, who is still leaned up against the lockers. Her shirt is riding up and her hair is disheveled in the back from rubbing up against the lockers. It takes all of Nicole’s self control not to grab her by the hand, lead her to the bathroom, and take her right there. She pushes the thought to the side and refocuses back on Mr. Lee. “What rules against PDA?” Nicole asks. “People make out everywhere in here.”

 

“Do I need to talk to the sheriff about this?” Mr. Lee asks. “I wonder what he’ll have to say about you making out with Ms. Earp on school grounds.”

 

“ _Ms. Earp_ is my girlfriend,” Nicole says, starting to get angry. “And why is it you people always feel the need to bring Nedley into my business?”

 

“He’s your legal guardian,” Mr. Lee points out.

 

“That doesn’t mean he needs to know about _everything_ I do,” Nicole replies, her hands balling into fists as anger takes over her body. “I can’t do anything without someone in this stupid town telling him! I’m my own person and if I want to make out with _my_ girlfriend against these lockers, then that’s what I’m going to do.”

 

“I’m smelling a call home and a detention,” Mr. Lee tells her.

 

“No, I think that’s just your breath,” she fires back. “Ever heard of a mint?”

 

“Watch it, Haught,” he warns.

 

“What I meant was,” Nicole starts, “ever heard of a mint, _sir_?”

 

“That’s it, Nicole,” Mr. Lee says angrily. “I’m phoning Randy Nedley and you have Saturday detention.”

 

“I can’t wait to spend another Saturday with Ms. Lin,” Nicole smirks. “I think she has a thing for me.”

 

Mr. Lee shakes his head and walks away, muttering something about kids these days.

 

Nicole turns back to Waverly, who is smiling.

 

“That was so hot.”

 

“Yeah?” Nicole questions, leaning up against Waverly.

 

“Yeah,” she nods her head, leaning in and pecking Nicole on the lips. “But the first bell is about to ring so I gotta jet.”

 

“I forgot I’m dating a good girl,” Nicole teases, kissing Waverly on the forehead.

 

Waverly gently pushes Nicole off of her and smiles. “It’s a good thing I have a thing for bad girls, then, eh?”

 

Nicole wiggles her eyebrows. “It’s a great thing.” She winks and Waverly blows her a kiss before walking in the opposite direction.

 

She still doesn’t know how she landed a girl like Waverly Earp. Waverly was the light of day and Nicole was the dark of night. She remembers when she first moved here, back when she was twelve-years-old, and met the Earp girls for the first time.

 

_After eating breakfast, Nicole grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulders. She made sure to look down at her shoes and make sure they were properly tied. After assuring herself that they were, she smiled to herself. It was her first day of middle school and only her fifth day in the Nedley household She was wearing denim jeans, a tucked-in white t-shirt, and a jean jacket that her mother had given her. Her hair was in a ponytail and some of her adult teeth still hadn’t grown in._

 

_“Are you ready, Nicole?” Nedley asked after he finished the last of his coffee._

 

_Nicole nodded her head. “I am, sir.”_

 

_“Chrissy, grab your backpack,” he told Chrissy, who was wearing jeans with a Celine Dion t-shirt. She had on high-tops and her hair was in a braided ponytail._

 

_“Okay, daddy,” she said, disappearing up the stairs._

 

_Nicole bounced up and down on her toes. She was never a patient person. “When is my mama comin’ to pick me up, sir? She told me that I’d only be here a week and I think it’s been passed that.”_

 

_She doesn’t see the way Nedley takes in a sharp breath. “I’m afraid I don’t know when she’s coming, Nicole.”_

 

_“It’s just that I’ve tried callin’ her and she hasn’t answered,” Nicole told him. “My pop hasn’t answered, either. Do you know why that is, sir?”_

 

_“I don’t,” Nedley shook his head. “You’re safe to stay here while you wait, though.”_

 

_Nicole smiled. “Thank you, sir,” she replied._

 

_Chrissy returned and they all hoped into Nedley’s cruiser. Chrissy and Nicole got out at the middle school and waved goodbye to Nedley._

 

_“Daddy said to meet back here at the end of the day,” Chrissy informed Nicole. “My school is right over there,” she pointed to the elementary building right next to the middle school. “I’ll see you after school.”_

 

_“See you,” Nicole responded before making her way to the main entrance of the middle school. Her eyes got wide as she took in the building. There were people bigger, taller than her talking and popping their gum. She walked further into the building and looked for the sixth grade pod. When she found it, she took out a piece of paper from her backpack that had her locker number and combination on it. She looked around and noticed that she wasn’t the only one who looked lost, which made her feel better. She searched up and down the rows of lockers until she found hers. Number 255. She smiled and entered her combination, opening it and looking inside._

 

_“Hey,” she heard from her side._

 

_She looked over and saw a girl a little shorter than her with long, brown hair and a leather jacket on. “Hey.”_

 

_“Why do you talk like that?” The girl asked, her eyebrows furrowed._

 

_“Talk like what?”_

 

_The girl eyed her. “You pronounce words weird.”_

 

_“I’m from Boston,” Nicole told her._

 

_“Isn’t that in The States?”_

 

_Nicole nodded her head. “Yeah, I’m just visiting, though,” she spoke. “I’m not sure how long, but I gotta go back home sometime.”_

 

_“Right,” the girl replied. “What’s your name?”_

 

_“Nicole Haught,” Nicole responded. “What’s yours?”_

 

_“Wynonna Earp.”_

 

_“Cool,” Nicole said, looking back into her locker._

 

_“You got any friends?” Wynonna asked, looking over Nicole’s shoulder into her locker._

 

_“No,” Nicole told her. “Do you?”_

 

_Wynonna shook her head. “Nope,” she said._

 

_Nicole looked back at her. It looked like her front teeth were still trying to properly grow in. “Do you want to be my friend?”_

 

_Wynonna shrugged. “Only if you wanna be mine.”_

 

_“Sure,” Nicole said, smiling._

 

_“Cool,” Wynonna grinned before walking to the other rows of lockers and opening hers._

 

_After a long, awkward day of her first day of middle school, Nicole was glad to go back to the Nedley household. She was standing in the spot that Chrissy said to meet her at, waiting for her._

 

_“Nicole!”_

 

_Nicole turned her head and saw Wynonna walking over to her. “Wynonna.”_

 

_“What’re you doing?”_

 

_“Waitin’ for Chrissy,” Nicole told her. “What’re you doin’?”_

 

_“Waiting for my little sister,” Wynonna replied. “We have to walk home together. Gus’s rules.”_

 

_“Who’s Gus?”_

 

_“Our aunt,” Wynonna informed her. “We live with her and our Uncle Curtis. They’re real nice.”_

 

_Nicole offered her a dimpled grin. “Sweet,” she responded._

 

_“Who’re you staying with?” Wynonna asked her, pushing her hair out of her face._

 

_“Randy Nedley,” Nicole told her. “Chrissy told me to meet her here. That’s why I’m waitin’.”_

 

_“You’re stayin’ with the sheriff?” Wynonna asked, raising her eyebrows. “How did that come about?”_

 

_Nicole shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said. “I was s’possed to be stayin’ with my aunt, but I guess that didn’t work out. Sheriff Nedley told me I could stay with him, so that’s what I’ve been doin’.”_

 

_“I see,” Wynonna replied. “Here comes Waverly.”_

 

_Nicole spotted Chrissy walking with a short, brown-haired girl. She took a moment to just look at her and smiled._

 

_“Wynonna,” Waverly said as she and Chrissy approached the two of them. “Chrissy said I could go over to her house. Will you tell Gus I’ll be home for dinner?”_

 

_“I want to go, too,” Wynonna responded, looking at Nicole. “Is it okay if I come over?”_

 

_Nicole shrugged, looking at Chrissy. “Chrissy, do you think Mr. Randy will let Wynonna come over, too?”_

 

_Chrissy smiled, nodding her head. “‘Course,” she said._

 

_“We’ll call Gus when we get there,” Wynonna told Waverly._

 

_Waverly looked at Nicole. “Who’re you?”_

 

_“This,” Wynonna began, slinging her arm around Nicole’s shoulders, although she wasn’t tall enough to comfortably do so. “Is my new friend, Nicole Haught.”_

 

_“You got red hair,” Waverly observed._

 

_“And she talks weird,” Wynonna commented._

 

_“My name is Waverly Earp,” Waverly said proudly._

 

_“It’s nice to meet you, Waverly,” Nicole gave Waverly her best smile._

 

_“Since you’re Wynonna’s friend, does that mean you’re my friend, too?” Waverly asked._

 

_“I think so,” Nicole replied, not really sure. She rubbed the back of her neck._

 

_“You can be her friend, but only I get to be her best friend,” Wynonna told Waverly._

 

_Waverly crossed her arms over her chest. “What did Gus say about sharing, ‘Nonna?”_

 

_Wynonna rolled her eyes. “I am sharing, babygirl,” she assured her. “But she was my friend first, which means I’m her best friend.”_

 

_“Whatever,” Waverly muttered. She looked at Chrissy, smiling. “Then only Chrissy gets to be my best friend.”_

 

_“Fine,” Wynonna said, taking her arm off of Nicole and readjusting her backpack. “Let’s go.”_

 

Ever since that day, Wynonna and Nicole have been best friends. Nicole has always been close with Waverly and the two of them started dating during Waverly’s last year of middle school and Nicole’s first year of high school. That was a mess in itself because of their lack of communication, but they eventually figured it out.

 

When the lunch bell rings, Nicole heads off campus and straight into the woods, where she and Wynonna’s spot is located. It isn’t much; just a couple of trees with a log they found and placed in a dirt patch. It’s far enough from the school so no one can see them, but not too far that they can’t hear when the bell rings.

 

Wynonna is already there, waiting for her with a lit cigarette between her fingers. “How was math?”

 

“A joke,” Nicole murmurs, fishing in her pocket for her cigarettes. She pulls one out and lights it. “I don’t even know why I bother going to that class. I never understand any of it.”

 

“That’s how I feel about all of my classes,” Wynonna replies before taking a drag from her cigarette. “I can’t until we graduate. Then we can join the Banditos and travel the world on our motorcycles.”

 

Nicole takes a hit from her cigarette and blows out the smoke. “Wouldn’t that be nice?” She asks, smiling. “But Nedley has been asking me about college.”

 

“College?” Wynonna questions, raising her eyebrows. “Since when has that been in our plan?”

 

Nicole shrugs. “It hasn’t,” she responds. “But he expects me to go.”

 

Wynonna sighs. “Gus has been pressuring me about it, too,” she admits. “I don’t wanna go, though. I hate school.”

 

“Me, too,” Nicole agrees. “But if we went together, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad?”

 

Wynonna thinks about it for a moment before saying, “Maybe.” She takes another hit from her cigarette. “We’ve always wanted to join the Banditos, though. Ever since we saw them for the first time our Freshman year.”

 

“I know,” Nicole says, flicking the end of her cigarette. “I don’t wanna let Nedley down and I sure as hell know that you don’t wanna let Gus down.”

 

Wynonna nods her head. “Yeah, you’re right,” she speaks. “But if I flunk out, then you flunk out ‘cause when we go down-“

 

“We go down together,” Nicole finishes, smiling. “Always.”

 

_“What if we get caught?” Wynonna asked as she undid the cap that was keeping the air in Champ Hardy’s bike tires._

 

_Nicole looked around them. No one was looking, which was good. It was lunchtime and they were in seventh grade. Champ had done something to piss Nicole off, so this is what he got in return. “It’ll be fine,” Nicole assured her. “If we go down, we go down together.”_

 

_Wynonna put the cap in her pocket and smiled. “Always?” She asked, raising her eyebrows._

 

_Nicole nodded her head, putting the other cap in her pocket. “Always,” she confirmed. “C’mon, let’s go before people start getting suspicious.”_

 

“I have Saturday detention,” Nicole tells Wynonna. “Again.”

 

Wynonna blows out some smoke from her mouth. “Gross,” she says. “How’d that happen?”

 

Nicole shrugs. “Mr. Lee was bein’ a douche,” she replies. “Told me he was goin’ to tell Nedley that I was kissin’ Waverly. I got an attitude with him and told him his breath stank. He didn’t like that,” she laughs. “But seriously,” she continues. “I’m tired of everyone in this town reporting my every move to Nedley.”

 

“Right?” Wynonna agrees. “Everyone always tells Gus what I’m up to. I can’t even drive my motorcycle without someone telling her that I was driving too fast.”

 

Nicole takes a nice, long drag from her cigarette. “This town is too damn small.”

 

Wynonna is silent for a moment. She finishes off her cigarette and throws it on the ground before stepping on it with her foot. “You ever think about what you’re life would be like if you went back to Boston?”

 

“Sometimes,” she admits quietly. “Usually I just push the thought out, though,” she tells Wynonna. “Everything good I have in my life is because I came to Purgatory. Nedley, Chrissy, Waverly,” she lists, looking at Wynonna. “You,” she finishes.

 

Wynonna offers her a dimpled smile. “I am pretty great, aren’t I?” She laughs, wrinkles forming around her eyes. She becomes serious and looks at Nicole. “I do…you know…”

 

“Yeah,” Nicole nods her head. “Me, too.” She drops her cigarette on the ground and smooshes it with her foot. “Do you ever think about what your life would be like if you’re parents weren’t in prison?”

 

“Yeah, more than I probably should,” Wynonna tells her, looking off into the distance at the leaves falling. “I think about how Willa would still be here if they hadn’t…you know…” she trails off for a moment. “I think about how mama would make dinner and kiss us on the forehead,” she says, allowing herself to smile for only a second. “How daddy would let us watch TV until it was time for bed and whisper that he loves us,” she continues. “Mostly I just think about how we had a good family,” she says. “And how we would still have a good family if they hadn’t ripped it out from underneath us like they did,” she sighs. “And how maybe Waverly wouldn’t need reassurance that she’s loved; that she’s good enough.” She looks down at the ground. “And maybe neither would I.”

 

Nicole just stares at Wynonna, unsure of what to say or do. They hardly talk about their feelings and their families, or lack thereof. It only happens sometimes, like when they have a bad day or are pissed off. They never let their guard down for anyone besides each other and Waverly.

 

Nicole walks closer to Wynonna. “We don’t need our parents,” she starts, talking softly. “We’ve created our own family,” she continues. “And, yeah, it isn’t the perfect family, but it’s…” she trails off, thinking of the right word to describe it. “Worthy,” she says, smiling. “Our family is worthy of all the love and happiness we bring each other,” she adds, trying to get Wynonna to look at her. “I love you,” she allows herself to say. She and Wynonna never say that out loud to each other. It’s always said in long stares and lingering touches, but never in actual words. “And I love Waverly,” she tells her. “And you guys are more than enough,” she assures her, stepping even closer when Wynonna finally looks at her. She stares at her for a long moment before grabbing Wynonna’s head and placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

 

Wynonna leans into the kiss. She blinks away the tears that are threatening to spill from her eyes and says, “I love you, too.” Nicole lets go of her head and smiles. “And you’re more than enough; your love is more than enough.”

 

The bell rings from afar, pulling them both out of their moment.

 

“C’mon, Earp,” Nicole starts. “Let’s go raise some hell.”

 

Wynonna laughs. “Let’s.”

 

Nicole shuts her locker and starts walking towards the exit of the school. She makes her way outside and to the parking lot where her motorcycle is parked. Wynonna and Waverly are already there. Wynonna is fidgeting with her lighter and Waverly is texting someone.

 

“Are you guys comin’ over right now?” Nicole asks, grabbing her motorcycle keys out of her jeans pocket.

 

“Hell, yeah,” Wynonna replies, putting her lighter away and looking at Nicole. “We gotta watch our show. You recorded it, right?”

 

Nicole nods her head. “Yeah, I record it every week, ‘Nonna.”

 

Waverly sends whatever text she was typing out, then puts her phone away. “I’m watching it, too.”

 

“You don’t even like _Son’s of Anarchy_ ,” Wynonna sighs, rolling her eyes.

 

“So?” Waverly says. “I wanna spend time with Nicole.”

 

“You see her all the time,” Wynonna argues.

 

“So do you,” Waverly points out, getting annoyed.

 

“I’m her best friend,” Wynonna says, her eyebrows furrowed.

 

“I’m her girlfriend,” Waverly tells Wynonna, reaching for Nicole and wrapping herself in her arms.

 

Wynonna grabs Nicole’s arm and tugs. “The show is only an hour. Chrissy invited you over, so you should be spending time with her.”

 

“Enough,” Nicole sighs, shoving Wynonna’s hand off of her and untangling herself from Waverly. “This has got to stop,” she tells the both of them. “I can spend time with both of you.”

 

“But-“

 

Nicole glares at Wynonna, forcing her to stop what she was going to say. “Waves, baby, I love you,” she says. “But _Son’s of Anarchy_ is my and ‘Nonna’s show,” she continues. “You and I can do something after dinner, okay?”

 

“Ha-ha,” Wynonna says, sticking her tongue out at Waverly.

 

Waverly crosses her arms at her chest.

 

“And, you,” Nicole turns to Wynonna. “Stop making Waverly think that she doesn’t get to spend time with me. She’s my girlfriend and she gets most of my attention, therefore you have to stop treating her like she’s just your little sister,” she says. “That’s not the case anymore. She’s so much more than that.”

 

Wynonna holds up her hands in surrender. “Understood, HaughtTopic,” she tells Nicole. “I heard you loud and clear.”

 

“I just want to keep both of you happy,” Nicole speaks, running a hand through her hair. “You guys are my two favorite people in the whole, wide world. I have to give you guys attention while also trying not to piss one of you off. You’ve just got to bare with me, okay?”

 

Both of the Earp girls nod their heads.

 

“You’re _my_ favorite person in the whole, wide world, baby,” Waverly says softly, wrapping her arms around Nicole again.

 

Nicole kisses the top of Waverly’s head.

 

“And mine,” Wynonna comments, leaning into Nicole, who wraps an arm around her.

 

“My girls,” Nicole whispers, smiling.

 

“Girls, dinner is ready!” Nedley hollers from downstairs.

 

Nicole bounces off her bed and plants her feet on the floor. “I’m starving.”

 

Wynonna rolls off of Nicole’s bed and stretches. “Me, too.”

 

They make their way downstairs and load food on their plates. Chrissy and Waverly come down after them and do the same thing, then all of them join Nedley at the dinner table.

 

“Thank you for dinner, Nedley,” Waverly smiles before taking a bite of her food.

 

“It’s my pleasure, Waverly,” Nedley replies, offering her a small grin.

 

“Yeah, this meal is rockin’,” Wynonna says with a mouthful of mashed potatoes in her mouth. “Thanks, Ned.”

 

“Nedley is fine, Wynonna,” Nedley tells her. “And you girls know that you’re welcome here anytime.”

 

Nicole swallows her food. “Is it okay if I take Waverly on a bike ride after dinner, sir?”

 

“You’ll be back for your ten o’clock curfew?”

 

Nicole nods her head. “Of course. I have to have Waves home by nine-thirty or Gus’ll be waitin’ with a gun.”

 

Wynonna laughs. “That’s not even an exaggeration.”

 

“Remember what I said about helmets,” Nedley reminds Nicole with a look of warning.

 

“Yes, I know, sir,” Nicole assures him before taking another bite of her food. She swallows, then says, “I have somethin’ to tell you.”

 

“What’s that?” Nedley asks, giving Nicole his full attention.

 

Nicole blows out a breath. “I’ve decided…” she pauses. “Well, we’ve decided,” she gestures between her and Wynonna. “That we’re going to college.”

 

“You are?” Chrissy questions, a small smile on her face. She’s always rooted for Nicole.

 

Nicole nods her head and so does Wynonna.

 

“Whereas we want nothing more than to join the Banditos,” Wynonna starts. “We also want to make our people proud.”

 

“And try as we may, we are going to,” Nicole finishes, a shy smile on her face.

 

“That’s great news, girls,” Nedley smiles. He grabs a napkin and wipes off his face. “I’m relieved you aren’t going to waste your days riding motorcycles around the world. Save that for after you retire,” he jokes. “I’m proud of you both. Really.”

 

“Never thought I’d hear the Sheriff say he’s proud of me,” Wynonna says. “Do I get a gold star or something?”

 

“Don’t push it, Wynonna,” Nedley warns.

 

“Where would you guys go?” Waverly asks. She seems off and it doesn’t go unnoticed by Wynonna or Nicole.

 

Wynonna and Nicole both shrug. “We aren’t for sure yet.”

 

“Well, there’s a great community co-“

 

“No, no, no,” Wynonna shakes her head, cutting Waverly off. “No,” she says again. “We aren’t going to a _lame_ community college. We’re going to a University. Isn’t that right, HaughtPants?”

 

Nicole nods her head. “Yeah,” she agrees. “If we’re going to college, we’re going to do it right.”

 

Wynonna holds up her hand. “Exactly.”

 

Nicole meets Wynonna’s hand with hers, smiling.

 

“But the community college is right here in town,” Waverly points out. “And the closest University is in the Big City.”

 

“Your point?” Wynonna asks, raising an eyebrow.

 

“Never mind,” Waverly huffs.

 

“O-kay, then,” Wynonna speaks. She takes another bite of her food.

 

“I’m really happy that you’re going to college, Nicole,” Chrissy tells Nicole with a smile.

 

“Thanks, Chrissy,” Nicole smiles as well.

 

“What about me, Nedley Junior?” Wynonna asks, a pout on her lips.

 

“You, too, ‘Nonna,” Chrissy replies.

 

“Do you girls want some desert?” Nedley asks. “I can run down to Joe’s Ice Cream Parlor and get all of us some.”

 

“No, thank you, sir,” Nicole responds. “I’m stuffed.”

 

“Same here,” Chrissy adds.

 

“Oh, me too,” Wynonna comments, rubbing her stomach.

 

“Yeah, so am I,” Waverly says softly, playing with the leftover food on her plate.

 

They all help Nedley clean up before Nicole grabs her motorcycle keys and looks at Waverly. “You ready, baby?”

 

Waverly says something to Chrissy before replying. “Yeah.”

 

Nicole fist bumps Wynonna. When it was just the two of them, she would kiss Wynonna’s forehead. She doesn’t do it in front of people besides Waverly. “See you in the morning, Earp.”

 

“Not if I see you first, Haughty,” Wynonna winks at her. “I’ll see you at home, babygirl,” she tells Waverly before saying goodbye to Nedley and Chrissy, then leaving.

 

Nicole grabs her leather jacket that is hanging on the coatrack by the door and puts it on. She assures Nedley that she’ll be back on time again, then escorts Waverly outside. Waverly, who is only wearing high-rise jeans and a crop top, is shivering.

 

“Are you cold, babe?” Nicole asks, furrowing her eyebrows as she grabs her spare helmet and hands it to Waverly.

 

Waverly nods her head.

 

“Here,” Nicole slips off her leather jacket and helps Waverly put it on. She smiles at the way Waverly swims in it.

 

“I don’t want you to be cold,” Waverly tells her, appreciating the warmth she now feels.

 

Nicole shrugs. “I’d rather be cold than have you be cold,” she says honestly.

 

Waverly smiles and kisses Nicole’s cheek. “Where are you taking me?” She asks as she climbs onto the back of the bike. She puts the helmet on, then watches Nicole do the same. “It had better not be the lake because we don’t have your car and as much as I love…you know…I’d rather not have everyone see.”

 

Nicole laughs softly. “No, baby, we aren’t going to the lake,” she assures her girlfriend. “Unless you want to? ‘Cause I can get my Challenger and we could-“

 

“No,” Waverly says. “I’m not in the mood for that tonight.”

 

Nicole puts the key in the ignition. “Okay, baby,” she replies before starting the motorcycle and taking off.

 

There’s something about her girl holding onto her and the way the wind feels on her face that makes Nicole feel at peace. They drive for around ten minutes before Nicole reduces her speed and eventually brings the motorcycle to a halt.

 

“The woods?” Waverly questions, looking at the huge group of trees in front of her.

 

“Not _just_ the woods,” Nicole replies, killing the ignition and taking off her helmet. She kicks out the peg before getting off, then helping Waverly off.

 

Waverly takes off her helmet and sets it on the bike. “Really? ‘Cause that’s all I’m seeing.”

 

Nicole smiles and grabs Waverly’s hand before leading her along a path. “‘Nonna and I come here sometimes,” she tells her as they walk. “To smoke, usually,” she adds. “But we talk, too,” she continues. “Some of the best conversations we’ve had came from here.”

 

“I’m still not sure what _here_ is,” Waverly responds, jumping a little when she steps on a twig. “Seriously, Nicole, where is it you’re taking me?”

 

“You’ll find out in a few steps,” Nicole assures her as they continue walking along the path. A few moments later, they’re standing on a cliff that overlooks a creek. There are trees and actual sand. The stream is flowing quickly and it looks _beautiful_.

 

“Whoa,” Waverly breathes out. “This view is-“

 

“Spectacular,” Nicole finishes for her. “Wynonna and I come here when we just need to get away for a little while. When we’re here, it feels like we’re the only two people in the world.”

 

Waverly smiles. “Why’d you bring me here?”

 

Nicole squeezes Waverly’s hand softly. “Because I want to share everything with you,” she tells her.

 

As sweet as the comment is, Waverly can’t help but feel sad. “What about when you go to college?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Waverly sighs. “You’ll be so far away,” she speaks. “Meeting new people,” she adds. “Going to parties and meeting girls.” She pauses, trying to shake the image of Nicole touching another girl the way she touches her. “What if you forget about me?”

 

“Why would I forget about you?” Nicole asks, furrowing her eyebrows.

 

“Forget it,” Waverly murmurs, untangling her fingers from Nicole’s.

 

“No,” Nicole says firmly. “Baby, you’re it for me, okay?” She pushes her hair out of her face. “I don’t want anyone else. No matter how far away I am; no matter how many girls I meet, you’re always going to be the only one for me. I am completely and faithfully yours, for as long as you want me.”

 

Waverly blinks away the tears that form in her eyes. “You mean it?”

 

“I do,” Nicole says without missing a beat. “I want to marry you, Waverly Earp.”

 

Waverly smiles, looking at the creek before looking back at Nicole. “Are you proposing?”

 

Nicole rubs the back of her neck. “Not yet,” she replies. “It isn’t the right time for that. We’re still in high school and Gus would probably shoot me if I were to propose to you right now.”

 

“Probably,” Waverly laughs, then she becomes serious. “I didn’t know you wanted to marry me.”

 

“Do you want to marry me?”

 

“You know, for this not being a proposal, it sure does sound like one,” Waverly jokes. When Nicole doesn’t say anything, she adds, “Of course I want to marry you, Nicole Haught. I’ll be ready whenever you’re ready.”

 

Nicole lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “I love you, you know that?”

 

Waverly nods her head, a smile on her face. “I love you, too.”

 

Nicole leans in and softly kisses Waverly. She wraps her arms around her and pulls her against her. Waverly loops her arms around Nicole’s neck and bites Nicole’s bottom lip. She soothes the bite with her tongue and Nicole moans into her mouth. Nicole lets her hands fall to Waverly’s ass, making it Waverly’s turn to moan into her mouth. Nicole moves her lips to Waverly’s neck and starts biting and sucking.

 

“Mmm, baby,” Waverly moans. “We need to stop.”

 

Nicole smiles against her neck. “I know.”

 

Waverly allows Nicole to kiss her neck for a few more moments before she reluctantly pulls away. She catches her breath and says, “Are you coming to the football game tomorrow night?”

 

Nicole tries to tame her arousal. “Yeah, to see my baby cheering in a short skirt.”

 

Waverly laughs softly. “You’re a dork.”

 

“I’m _your_ dork.”

 

“I can’t complain about that, can I?” Waverly replies, pulling Nicole in for one more kiss.

 

“Nope,” Nicole says against her lips. She pecks her lips once more, then pulls away. “C’mon, I gotta get you home.”

 

“Will you stay the night?” Waverly asks, grabbing Nicole’s hand and interlacing their fingers.

 

Nicole kisses the top of Waverly’s hand. “I’d love to,” she starts. “But I can’t. I told Nedley I’d be home, remember?”

 

Waverly sighs. “Have Chrissy cover for you,” she begs. “C’mon, baby, you haven’t stayed the night in _forever_.”

 

Nicole laughs. “I stayed the night last week.”

 

“I want you to hold me,” she tells her girlfriend. “I’m cold without you.”

 

“Waves, you have, like, four blankets you sleep with,” Nicole points out, guiding Waverly out of the woods.

 

“But you’re my bonus blanket,” Waverly replies.

 

“Gus’ll freak if she sees me.”

 

“You can crawl through the window, then leave before the sun comes up.”

 

“As much as I want to, I can’t,” Nicole responds. “I don’t want to risk getting grounded when I already have Saturday detention.”

 

Waverly sighs again.

 

“Tell you what,” Nicole starts. “I’ll stay the night tomorrow night and Saturday night, okay?”

 

Waverly smiles. “Okay,” she agrees.

 

They both get on Nicole’s motorcycle and Nicole drives Waverly home. When they pull up to Gus’s house, Nicole shuts off her motorcycle and takes off her helmet. She gets off, helps Waverly off, then walks her up to the front door.

 

“Pick me up in the morning?” Waverly asks, wrapping her arms around Nicole’s neck.

 

Nicole nods her head. “Absolutely, baby.”

 

Nicole leans in and captures Waverly’s lips with her own. Before the kiss can deepen, the porch light comes on the and door opens.

 

“Thank you for getting my girl home on time, Nicole,” Gus says to Nicole.

 

Nicole pulls away from the kiss and smiles. “Of course, ma’am.”

 

“Gus is fine,” Gus tells her. “And wipe that smeared lipgloss off of your lips, would you? It doesn’t look right.”

 

Nicole feels her face turn red. “Sorry about that, ma-“ she stops. “Gus,” she corrects herself. She uses the back of her hand to wipe Waverly’s lipgloss off of her lips.

 

“Get in here, girl,” Gus tells Waverly. “It’s chilly out there.” She notices the leather jacket Waverly’s wearing and says, “I’ve never seen you wear that jacket before.”

 

Waverly forgot she even had Nicole’s jacket on. She slips it off of her and hands it back to Nicole. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

 

Nicole nods her confirmation. “May I?” She asks, looking between Gus and Waverly.

 

“Make it quick,” Gus says.

 

Nicole leans in and kisses Waverly’s cheek. “Sleep tight, babe. I love you.”

 

Waverly smiles and can’t help but kiss Nicole’s lips. “I love you, too.”

 

“Do I hear Naughty Haughty?” Wynonna questions as she appears in the entryway. “I knew it was you!” She exclaims before pushing past Gus and Waverly and walking outside.

 

“Hey, Earp,” Nicole greets her best friend.

 

“Dude, I gotta show you what Doc-“

 

“Wynonna, get back inside,” Gus instructs. “You can show Nicole whatever that Holliday boy did tomorrow.”

 

Wynonna sighs an exaggerated sigh. “Fine,” she rolls her eyes. “G’night, Haught.”

 

“Night, Earp,” Nicole replies. “Night, Gus,” she tells Gus, who says it back. “Night, Waves,” she smiles, winking at her girlfriend.

 

Waverly waves at her before turning and walking inside. Gus shuts the door and Nicole hears it lock. She makes her way to her motorcycle and drives home. When she gets there, Nedley is sitting in the kitchen, waiting for her.

 

“I’m not late, am I, sir?” Nicole asks as she closes the sliding door that leads right to the kitchen.

 

Nedley shakes his head. “No,” he assures her. “I just like waiting up for you, to know that you’re safe.”

 

Nicole can’t help but smile.

 

“I got a call from the school today,” he starts and Nicole’s smile fades away.

 

“About that-“

 

“The principal told me you were mouthing off to Mr. Lee,” he tells her. “And earned yourself Saturday detention.”

 

Nicole nods her head. “I had good reason. He was all up in my business about Waverly.”

 

“He said you two were making out.”

 

“Why does everyone care that we were making out?” Nicole asks, feeling anger bubbling inside of her. “She’s my girlfriend. I’m allowed.”

 

“You’re not allowed in front of the whole damn school,” Nedley chastises her.

 

“Everyone else does it!” Nicole practically yells.

 

“Don’t raise your voice at me,” Nedley warns her. “Nicole, ever since you and Waverly started dating-“

 

“Four years ago,” Nicole points out.

 

“Your grades haven’t been all that great,” Nedley finishes, talking over Nicole. “You’ve been more focused on her than you have on anything else. Well, besides Wynonna.”

 

“My grades have nothing to do with Waverly,” Nicole tries to assure him. “You wanna know why I have straight C’s? It’s because I hate school,” she informs him. “If anything, Waverly is the only reason I don’t drop out.”

 

“Yeah? Why’s that?”

 

“Because I want to give her the best damn life I can,” Nicole tells him. “I can’t do that if I don’t graduate high school and if I don’t go to college.”

 

“You really think Waverly is the person you’re going to spend the rest of your life with?”

 

“Of course,” Nicole says. “She’s the love of my life.”

 

“You’re too young to know that she’s the love of your life,” Nedley tells her.

 

“No, I’m not,” Nicole argues. “You know what? I don’t need your permission. I’m almost eighteen. I love Waverly and I love Wynonna. If you think they’re ruining my life, well, that’s your problem. Let me tell you something,” Nicole speaks. “My parents ruined my life the minute they dropped me here and ran, but Wynonna and Waverly are the ones who make my pain go away; they’re the ones that make this place feel like home.”

 

“Go to bed, Nicole,” Nedley replies.

 

“With pleasure,” she responds, storming up to her bedroom. She lays in her bed for a good twenty minutes before she decides that she doesn’t want to be here right now. She gets out of bed, sneaks down the stairs, and out the door. She walks her motorcycle up a few blocks before she gets on it and skirts toward the Earp residence.

 

She parks her motorcycle a couple of blocks away from the house before sneaking into the yard. She finds Waverly’s window and gently taps on it, hoping Waverly is still awake. Moments later, the window opens and there stands Waverly in her nightgown.

 

“Nicole?” She questions. “What’re you doing here?”

 

Nicole plasters on a smile. “I missed you.”

 

Waverly helps her quietly climb through the window before she softly closes it. “I thought you said you couldn’t stay tonight.”

 

Nicole shrugs, taking off her leather jacket and setting it aside. “I changed my mind.”

 

Waverly eyes her. “Did something happen?”

 

Nicole shakes her head. “No, I just wanted to see you.”

 

Waverly contemplates questioning Nicole further, but decides against it. “I’m glad you’re here.”

 

“Me, too,” Nicole smiles, taking off her t-shirt to reveal her sports bra. She undoes the button on her jeans, then lowers the zipper before slipping out of them. She takes off her socks and shoes, leaving her in only a sports bra and boxers. “C’mon, let’s go to sleep. I’m beat.”

 

Waverly kisses her softly before crawling into bed. Nicole climbs in after her and Waverly automatically cuddles up to her. Nicole kisses her forehead and pulls her closer.

 

“I love you,” Nicole whispers. She feels tears building in her eyes, but she quickly blinks them away.

 

“I love you, too,” Waverly replies, kissing her chest before resting her head there.

 

_You’re my girl, Waverly Earp,_ Nicole thinks to herself. _You’ll always be my girl._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What the…?” Wynonna questions, lifting an eyebrow. “What the hell happened to you?” 
> 
> Nicole rubs the back of her neck. “Nothin’,” she tells her. She looks at all of the food and feels her stomach rumble. “Would it be alright if I ate, Gus?” 
> 
> “Of course, Nicole,” Gus says, offering her a plate. 
> 
> Nicole accepts the plate, sits down next to Waverly, who looks at her suspiciously, then fills her plate with food. They all eat in silence before Wynonna speaks up again. 
> 
> “Haught, can I talk to you upstairs?” 
> 
> Nicole swallows the bacon she was chewing. “We’ve got to leave in a minute.” 
> 
> “Haught, upstairs,” Wynonna says sternly, not taking ‘no’ for an answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, all! Enjoy another chapter! I got this one out quickly because I had already started it and I had time to finish it. As always, enjoy and all feedback is welcome.

Waverly wakes up to her phone alarm and shuts it off without opening her eyes. She allows her eyes to stay closed for a few more minutes before she opens them and sits up in bed. She reaches for her phone to check her notifications when she notices a yellow sticky note on her nightstand. She picks it up and silently reads it.

 

 _Out before the sun comes up, remember? I was going to wake you to say goodbye, but you looked too peaceful. I’ll be back in a few hours to pick you up, as promised. I love you._

 

Waverly smiles before setting the sticky note back down and stretching. She replies to a text that Chrissy had sent her last night, then gets out of bed. She goes into the bathroom and takes a quick shower before going back to her room and getting dressed. She decides on light denim high rise jeans and a long-sleeved crop top. She blow dries her hair, then puts it into a braided ponytail. She’s in the midst of putting on her shoes when her bedroom door opens.

 

“Breakfast is ready,” Gus tells her. “If Nicole gets here early enough, she can eat, too.”

 

Waverly smiles. “Thanks, Gus.”

 

Gus goes to shut the door, but pauses. “And don’t think I don’t know that she stayed the night last night.”

 

Waverly feels her face turn red. “I’m sorry,” she apologizes. “But something was bothering her and she needed me, even if she didn’t say it.”

 

“You know she’s not to spend the night on school nights,” Gus warns her, looking at her sternly. “I hardly approve of her staying on weekends.”

 

“I know,” Waverly breathes out. “But something was seriously bothering her, Gus. You have to understand that I have to be there for her because she’s my girlfriend.”

 

“I do understand that,” Gus assures her. She lets go of the door handle and leans against the doorway. “But I know what funny business you two do behind closed doors, especially in the nighttime.”

 

“Nothing even happened,” Waverly argues. “Gosh, we’re not _that_ couple. We don’t need to have sex every time we’re alone.”

 

“Okay, okay,” Gus gives in. “So what was going on with her?”

 

Waverly shrugs. “I don’t know,” she admits. “She wouldn’t say.”

 

“Do you want me to ask her?”

 

Waverly shakes her head. “No,” she says. “She’ll tell me when she’s ready.”

 

“You think?” Gus questions, genuinely asking. “That girl has some serious walls built up, just like Wynonna.”

 

“I know,” Waverly replies. “They’re both…” She pauses, searching her mind for the right word. “Complicated people,” she says. “But we have a good thing going, the three of us. Sometimes it’s hard, but we figure it out.”

 

Gus smiles. “You guys have always been inseparable,” she responds. “It’s almost like you were made to find each other; to love each other.”

 

Waverly grins. “I think we were,” she admits. “I know sometimes you get mad when Nicole brings me home late or lingers before going home, but she doesn’t mean to do it. She needs me, Gus, and I need her,” she continues. “What I’m trying to say is this thing between the two of us isn’t a fling or a faze or whatever,” she tells Gus. “What I have with her; what I feel for her is so real, so raw, and it’s forever.”

 

“You’ve always been an honest kid,” Gus says. “So when you say that, I believe you. Just don’t go gettin’ married tomorrow.”

 

Waverly laughs softly. “So Vegas isn’t an option?”

 

“Don’t you play with me, girl,” Gus warns, but winks to show that she’s teasing. “Make sure you come and eat breakfast.”

 

“I’ll be down in two shakes,” she promises before Gus closes her door and goes back downstairs. She looks herself over in the mirror, grabs her backpack, then heads downstairs. Wynonna is already stuffing her face and texting someone.

 

“Wynonna Earp,” Gus says sternly. “You know there is to be no phones at the table.”

 

Wynonna finishes her text, sends it, then tucks it into her pocket. “Sorry, Gus.”

 

Waverly sits down and starts filling her plate with pancakes and bacon. “Thanks for breakfast, Gus.”

 

“You’re welcome,” Gus replies. “Eat up, girls. You’ve got to leave here soon.”

 

Nicole pulls up the Earp residence and shuts off her motorcycle. She’s still wearing her clothes from yesterday. When she left earlier this morning, she didn’t even go home. She went back to the spot in the woods that overlooked the creek and just thought about everything. She knows she looks a mess. Her t-shirt isn’t tucked in, her leather jacket doesn’t look right, her jeans aren’t setting on her hips properly, and the laces on her boots aren’t tied. Not to mention her phone is dead and she’s starving.

 

She makes her way up to the front door and knocks. She hears someone holler for her to come in so she does so. She hears the family of three in the kitchen so she makes her way there. When she gets there, they all stop what they’re doing and stare at her.

 

“What the…?” Wynonna questions, lifting an eyebrow. “What the hell happened to you?”

 

Nicole rubs the back of her neck. “Nothin’,” she tells her. She looks at all of the food and feels her stomach rumble. “Would it be alright if I ate, Gus?”

 

“Of course, Nicole,” Gus says, offering her a plate.

 

Nicole accepts the plate, sits down next to Waverly, who looks at her suspiciously, then fills her plate with food. They all eat in silence before Wynonna speaks up again.

 

“Haught, can I talk to you upstairs?”

 

Nicole swallows the bacon she was chewing. “We’ve got to leave in a minute.”

 

“Haught, upstairs,” Wynonna says sternly, not taking ‘no’ for an answer.

 

Nicole scoots her chair back before following Wynonna upstairs and into her room. Wynonna pulls one of her old band t-shirts out of her closet and throws it at Nicole.

 

“You’ve got to at least change your shirt,” she tells her. “And fix your pants,” she says. “And your jacket. Why does it look like that?” She asks, but shakes her head, silently telling Nicole to not answer. “And don’t tell me you forgot how to tie your shoes.”

 

Nicole takes off her t-shirt and throws it on Wynonna’s bed. She then puts on the new t-shirt Wynonna had given her, tucks it in, fixes her pants, readjusts her leather jacket, then bends over to tie her boots.

 

Wynonna hands her some deodorant. “You’ll thank me later.”

 

Nicole quickly applies the deodorant, going through the collar of her t-shirt. She combs her fingers through her hair, then looks at Wynonna. “Better?”

 

Wynonna looks her up and down, happy with what she sees. “Much,” she replies. “Now let’s get going,” she adds. “Oh, and don’t think we aren’t going to talk about this later, Haughtshot.”

 

Nicole doesn’t say anything. She just walks out of Wynonna’s room and back down the stairs. “Ready, Waves?” She asks as she enters the kitchen.

 

Waverly grabs her backpack and nods her head. “Yeah,” she says. She kisses Gus’s cheek. “Bye, Gus.”

 

“Bye, girl,” Gus replies, cleaning up the plates on the table. “Have a good day.”

 

Waverly interlaces Nicole’s fingers with hers and pulls her out of the house. “What’s wrong?” She asks.

 

Nicole tries to pull her hand away, but Waverly only holds it tighter. “Nothin’, baby.”

 

“What happened last night, Nicole?” Waverly asks, her eyebrows furrowing. “And don’t say ‘nothing’ because it’s obviously something.”

 

“Look, Waves, we’re going to be late. Can we talk about this later?”

 

Waverly notices the tired look on her girlfriend’s face, the one that makes her want to hold Nicole and kiss every inch of her body to make sure she knows that she’s loved. “You’ll come over after school?”

 

Nicole hands Waverly her spare helmet. “‘Course, babe,” she replies before putting her helmet on and hopping on her motorcycle. Waverly climbs on after her and wraps her arms around her. Before Nicole takes off, she watches as Wynonna comes out of the house and heads for her motorcycle. She silently hopes that she will approve of the idea that has been flowing in her head. She shakes the thought aside for now and takes off toward Purgatory High.

 

Nicole holds Waverly’s hand as they walk through the main doors of their high school. She walks Waverly to her locker, snarling at all the guys who look Waverly up and down. She softly kisses her cheek. “Have a good day, baby.”

 

Waverly catches her arm before she can walk away. “A proper kiss.”

 

Nicole smiles before leaning in and kissing Waverly’s lips. “Better?”

 

“Very much so,” Waverly beams, pecking her lips once more before pulling away.

 

“Hey, Waves,” Champ says as he approaches the two of them. He leans against the locker that’s beside Waverly’s. “There’s a party after the game tonight. You coming?”

 

Nicole looks Champ up and down, eyeing him. “No, she’s not comin’. Take a hike, pal.”

 

“I think the girl can answer for herself,” Champ tells Nicole. He looks back at Waverly. “So what d’ya say, Waves? You in?”

 

Waverly shakes her head. “No, thank you, Champ,” she replies.

 

“C’mon, Waverly,” Champ pushes. “There’s going to be boos and hot chicks,” he tells her. “And music,” he adds. “And maybe you and I could do all the things we never got to do in middle school,” he suggests, wiggling his eyebrows.

 

“Screw you, Chump,” Nicole says through gritted teeth. She steps forward. “Don’t ever try and pursue _my_ girlfriend ever again,” she tells him, anger rising with every breath she takes, making her hands ball into fists. “She’s not goin’ to your lame ass party so stop askin’.”

 

“You guys have been together for, like, four years,” Champ replies. “Aren’t you bored of her yet, Waves?” He asks. “I can show you a good time, if you’d like.” He steps toward Waverly and reaches out to touch her.

 

Nicole gets in his face and pushes him. “Fuck you!” She shouts, shoving him again. “Fuck you!” She shouts again. She’s breathing heavy now. “Don’t put your hands on her, you hear me?!”

 

“Get off of me, you psycho!” Champ yelled. “Waverly can make her own decisions.”

 

“Champ, I love Nicole. I don’t want to have a ‘good time’ with you,” Waverly says.

 

“C’mon, baby, you don’t want any of this?” Champ asks, gesturing to his whole body.

 

“Watch your mouth!” Nicole screams, punching Champ in the face, making him stumble backwards and fall to the ground. She gets on top of him and punches him again. “She doesn’t want you!” Another punch. “She’s never going to want you!” Another punch.

 

“Nicole!” Waverly pleads. “Stop!”

 

Nicole punches him again.

 

“Nicole Haught!” Mrs. Eden shouts. “Get off of him!”

 

Nicole punches him one more time before getting off of Champ. His face is bloody and he looks like he’s barely conscious. Nicole’s hands are bleeding as well, but she’s not sure how much blood is his and how much blood is hers.

 

“Baby…” Waverly says softly, eyebrows furrowed.

 

“To the principal’s office now, Ms. Haught,” Mrs. Eden tells her, pointing towards the principal’s office. “Can you find it yourself or do you need a babysitter?”

 

“I don’t need a babysitter,” Nicole mumbles.

 

“What was that?”

 

“I can find it myself, _ma’am_ ,” she says loudly before heading towards the principal’s office. When she gets there, Mr. Otto looks at her weirdly.

 

“What did you do, Ms. Haught?” He asks. He gestures for her to take a seat in front of his desk and she does.

 

“I beat up Champ Hardy, sir,” she informs him, not even an ounce of regret in her voice. “But, you see, he had it comin’.”

 

“Nicole, it’s only the second month of school and this is your second fight,” Mr. Otto tells her. “What’s going on?”

 

Nicole sighs and leans against one side of the chair she’s sitting in. “He was all over my girlfriend, okay? Sayin’ how he wants to get with her. That wasn’t goin’ to fly with me, so I hit him again and again.”

 

“Nicole, this whole school knows that you and Ms. Earp are dating,” Mr. Otto replies, leaning back into his chair. “So why would Champ Hardy try and approach her?”

 

Nicole shrugs. “I don’t know, sir,” she responds. “I was just tryin’ to protect my girl.”

 

“Well, you can’t go beating people up every time someone does something you don’t like,” Mr. Otto says sternly. “That’s not how the real world works.”

 

“Don’t talk to me about the real world, okay?” Nicole says, rolling her eyes. “I’ve had my dose of it and I don’t need your lecture.”

 

“Perhaps you should talk to the counselor, yeah?” Mr. Otto suggests. “I know you haven’t had an easy life with your parents abandoning you and all. Maybe it’d be good to talk about it.”

 

Nicole leans forward, eyeing Mr. Otto. “I don’t need your pity,” she tells him, anger evident in her voice. “Go ahead and punish me, but let me tell you something,” she adds. “Never talk to me about my parents again, okay?” She gets up out of her seat and heads for the door.

 

“Nicole, we’re not done talking about this!” Mr. Otto calls after her.

 

“You may not be, but I sure as hell am,” Nicole replies before she leaves the room completely. She shoves her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket and heads for the bathroom. She quickly washes off all of the blood, wincing at her sore knuckles. As she’s drying off her hands, she feels her phone vibrate in the back pocket of her jeans.

 

Waverly Earp 8:10 a.m: You broke Champ’s nose.

 

Waverly Earp 8:12 a.m: What did Mr. Otto say?

 

Waverly Earp 8:15 a.m: How’s your hand?

 

Wynonna Earp 8:17 a.m: Dude! You beat the shit out of Chump? Record it next time. Proud of you!

 

Nicole Haught to Waverly Earp 8:18 a.m: Mr. Otto didn’t say. I walked out. My hand is fine. Champ deserved it and I’m not sorry.

 

Nicole Haught to Wynonna Earp 8:20 a.m: Apparently I broke his nose. He had it coming. You should’ve heard the way he was talking to Waverly. What a dumbass.

 

She tucks her phone back into the back pocket of her jeans before heading to her first hour class. Her math teacher gives her a dirty look when she doesn’t show up with a late pass, but she just brushes it off and continues the lesson. Nicole doesn’t pay attention the whole time. In fact, she falls asleep and wakes up to the bell ringing.

 

She quickly grabs her backpack, slings it over her shoulder, then heads to her second hour class, which she has with Wynonna. As she’s walking, she checks her phone again.

 

Waverly Earp 8:40 a.m: What’s gotten into you? You aren’t acting like yourself.

 

Nicole Haught to Waverly Earp 8:50 a.m: I’m fine, Waverly. Stop asking.

 

Waverly Earp 8:51 a.m: Fine.

 

Nicole shoves her phone back into her pocket and walks into the classroom. Wynonna is waiting for her, sitting on top of her desk.

 

“Dude, up top,” Wynonna says, holding up her hand.

 

Nicole laughs and gives her a high-five. “I wish Waverly was as thrilled as you are.”

 

“She’ll get over it,” Wynonna tells her. “You know my sister. She’s all ‘violence is never the answer’.”

 

“Champ deserved everything he got,” Nicole replies. “He was all up on her, tryin’ to get her to come to his stupid party tonight and sleep with him.”

 

“Where is he? I’ll break his nose in the opposite direction.”

 

Nicole shrugs. “I don’t know. Probably in the nurses office cryin’ like a little baby.”

 

“Ms. Earp,” Mr. Porter says. “Off the desk.”

 

Wynonna rolls her eyes and gets off the desk. “Whatever you say, Mr. Peabody.”

 

“Didn’t I tell you to stop calling me that?”

 

“Didn’t I tell you that I wasn’t going to?” Wynonna fires back. “Look, dude, the bell hasn’t rang yet and I’m having a very important conversation with my best friend, so if you don’t mind.”

 

Mr. Porter walks up to the two of them. “That is no way to talk to your superior, Wynonna.”

 

“Take a chill pill,” Wynonna replies. “I’m having a conversation.”

 

“You know, Ms. Earp, I’ve had it with your attitude,” Mr. Porter says.

 

Wynonna rolls her eyes and looks at Nicole.

 

“Look at me when I’m talking to you,” Mr. Porter tells her.

 

“Sir, the bell hasn’t rang, and we’re tryin’ to have a conversation, so-“

 

“I don’t want to hear it from you, Nicole Haught,” Mr. Porter says sternly. “Don’t think I don’t know about your little fight with Champ Hardy this morning. You should be suspended.”

 

“And you shouldn’t be teaching history, but here we are,” Nicole replies.

 

“You know what? Both of you to the principal’s office this instant!” Mr. Porter yells, pointing at the door.

 

“We’ll gladly go, sir,” Nicole responds, looking him straight in the eye.

 

“It’s better than sitting through your class, Peabody,” Wynonna tells him, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. “C’mon, Naughty Haughty.”

 

Nicole follows her out of the classroom. “He’s such a noodle.”

 

“Tell me about it,” Wynonna says as the two of them make their way to the principal’s office. “Heya, Mr. Otto-matic,” she greets the principal.

 

“Wynonna,” he observes. “Nicole?” He questions, raising an eyebrow. “What’re you two doing in here?”

 

“Aren’t you happy to see us?” Wynonna asks, plopping down into one of the seats in front of Mr. Otto’s desk.

 

Mr. Otto just stares at her.

 

Nicole takes a seat next to Wynonna. “Mr. Porter sent us.”

 

“Why’s that?”

 

“The two of us were trying to have a conversation and he kept interrupting it simply because I was sitting on top of the desk,” Wynonna explains. “When he asked me to get off, I did. I don’t know what crawled up his ass, but he’s in a mood today.”

 

“Language,” Mr. Otto warns her. “Let me guess, you mouthed off to him?”

 

“Duh,” Wynonna says, as if it it’s obvious. “Why do you think we’re in here?”

 

Mr. Otto sighs and runs a hand through his short, black hair. “Wynonna, can’t you bite your tongue for just one day?” He asks. “You’re always mouthing off teachers,” he adds. “And, Nicole, this is your second time in here today.”

 

“Just one of those days, I guess, sir,” Nicole mumbles.

 

“Wynonna, you’ll be joining Nicole for Saturday detention tomorrow,” Mr. Otto tells Wynonna. “You both need to start acting right. You’re graduating in half a year. It’s time to shape up.”

 

“We are in shape,” Wynonna replies. “Have you not seen Haught’s abs? They’re out of this world.”

 

“Enough,” Mr. Otto responds, holding up one of his hands. “Are you going to tell Gus why you have Saturday detention or do I need to call and tell her?”

 

“I’m fully capable of telling her myself, thank you,” Wynonna says, standing up. “I’m blowing this pop stand. You coming, Haught?”

 

Nicole stands up. “Yeah.”

 

“Go straight back to class, you two,” Mr. Otto sternly tells them.

 

After school, Nicole lights a cigarette and savors the way it feels when she takes a hit from it. She’s still on school grounds, waiting for Waverly in the parking lot, but she doesn’t care. She needs this.

 

Wynonna walks up to her, cigarette between her fingers. Obviously she needs one, too. “It’s been a day.”

 

“It really has,” Nicole agrees. “To think we have to spend half our Saturday here tomorrow.”

 

“Worth it, though.”

 

“Can’t argue with that,” Nicole replies before taking another drag of her cigarette. “Hey, can we talk later on? Maybe get some dinner at Shorty’s before the game?”

 

Wynonna blows smoke from her mouth. “For sure,” she responds. “What’s up?”

 

Nicole shrugs. “Just something I need to ask you.”

 

“Should I be worried?” Wynonna asks, raising her eyebrows. Nicole can see the worry on her face.

 

Nicole shakes her head. “No, it’s nothing bad,” she assures Wynonna.

 

“Okay, cool,” Wynonna says, her face relaxing. “How’s your hand?”

 

Nicole examines her hand, wincing a little when she tries to bend her fingers all the way. “A little sore,” she admits. “It’ll be fine, though.”

 

“Good,” Wynonna says. She holds her cigarette up to her mouth in order to take a drag of it, but she pauses. “And tonight you’re going to tell me why you showed up to my house looking a mess this morning.”

 

“I know,” Nicole replies. “I will.”

 

Wynonna takes a hit from her cigarette and blows it out.

 

Waverly walks up to the both of them. “I’m riding with Nicole, ‘Nonna.”

 

“I figured you were ditching me for Haught-Abs,” Wynonna replies. She takes a final hit from her cigarette before dropping it on the ground and stepping on it with her boot. “I’m going home and taking a nap. I’ll see you at Shorty’s tonight, Haught.”

 

Nicole nods her head, blowing out smoke from her mouth. “See ya, Earp.”

 

After Wynonna gets on her motorcycle and leaves, Nicole turns to her girlfriend. “Let me finish this,” she says, gesturing to the cigarette she’s holding, “then we can go.”

 

Waverly doesn’t say anything. She just waits for Nicole to finish her cigarette before the two of them get on Nicole’s motorcycle and head to Waverly’s house. When they get there, they greet Gus, then go upstairs to Waverly’s room.

 

Waverly sets her backpack down near her bed, then starts taking off her shirt.

 

Nicole’s breath catches in her throat. “Whoa,” she breathes out. “Now? With Gus downstairs?”

 

“Relax,” Waverly tells her. “I’m changing into one of your shirts so I can relax before I have to go to the game.”

 

“Oh,” Nicole replies, rubbing the back of her neck. “Cool.”

 

“ _Cool_ ,” Waverly mumbles before taking off her pants, leaving her in only a bra and underwear. She walks over to her dresser and opens the one that’s filled with t-shirts Nicole doesn’t wear anymore. She picks one, then puts it on. “Are you going to tell me what happened today?”

 

Nicole sighs, tucking her hands in her pockets. “Well, I punched Champ because he was disrepectin’ you,” she explains. “And-“

 

“Not that,” Waverly cuts her off. “Something happened before that, that made you tense today.”

 

Nicole shrugs. “No,” she denies. “Nothin’ happened.”

 

“When did we start hiding things from each other?” Waverly asks. She runs a hand through her hair and sighs before crawling into her bed.

 

Nicole sits on the edge of the bed and unties her boots. “I’m not hiding anythin’ from you, Waves.”

 

Waverly pulls the blanket over her body. “You’re lying to me.”

 

Nicole takes off both of her boots, sets them to the side, then takes off her leather jacket. “Fine,” she mutters, standing up and facing her girlfriend. “When I got home last night, Nedley chewed my ass for mouthing off to Mr. Lee,” she explains. “And it wasn’t _just_ the fact that I was mouthing off to him; it was the fact that you and I were kissin’,” she adds. “Nedley told me that I wasn’t allowed to do that in school; said that ever since you and I got together, my grades have been droppin’ and I focus all of my time on you and Wynonna,” she continues. She pauses for a moment, trying to read Waverly’s face. “I told him that my grades were droppin’ because I don’t like school,” she says. “And that you’re the reason I don’t drop out,” she tells Waverly. “‘Cause I want to be able to give you the best damn life I can; the best damn live you deserve,” she speaks. “He told me that I’m too young to know that you’re the one,” she informs her. “He thinks you and ‘Nonna are ruining my life, but I told him that you two were the ones who make this place feel like home. After that, he told me to go to bed, but I came here instead.”

 

“So that’s why you were a total mess this morning?” Waverly questions, lifting an eyebrow.

 

Nicole nods her head. “Yeah.”

 

“And he doesn’t think that we can make it as a couple? Thinks that we’re too young to know that what we feel is real?”

 

Nicole nods her head again. “Yes.”

 

Waverly gets out of her bed and starts pacing the room. Nicole watches her. “He thinks that Wynonna and I are ruining your life?”

 

Nicole sighs. “Yup.”

 

Waverly keeps pacing. “But you love me.”

 

“This is true,” Nicole assures her girlfriend.

 

“And I love you,” Waverly says. “I know that’s real; I know what I feel for you is beyond anything I’ve ever felt before.”

 

“I know that, too.”

 

“And I know we can make it,” Waverly tells her, still pacing. “We’ll get married one day and we’ll have beautiful children.”

 

“Children,” Nicole smiles.

 

“And we’ll buy a house. It doesn’t have to be here in Purgatory. We can move anywhere we want to.”

 

“Anywhere,” Nicole agrees.

 

“And ‘Nonna can come, too,” Waverly adds. “If she wants.”

 

“Of course,” Nicole says, nodding her head.

 

“We can do it, you and I,” Waverly tells Nicole. She finally stops pacing and looks long and hard at her girlfriend. “Who cares how many people doubt us; who cares how many people don’t approve. We can do this, Nicole. So long as you want to; so long as you want me as much as I want you.”

 

“Baby, I want it all,” Nicole assures Waverly, walking up to her and wrapping her arms around her waist. “I want to get down on one knee and swear myself to you; I want to buy a house with you; I want to have little Waverly’s running around our house; I want all of it. Gosh, Waves, that’s all I’ve ever wanted—to be with you.”

 

Waverly smiles and Nicole knows it’s the most beautiful thing in the world. The creases by her eyes; the way her nose crinkles, is so precious. “I love you.”

 

“I love you, too,” Nicole replies, leaning into kiss Waverly’s forehead. “That’s all I’ve ever been sure of—my love for you and Wynonna.”

 

“What’re you going to do about this Nedley situation?” Waverly asks, worry on her face. “I don’t want you to be unhappy living there; I don’t want him saying untrue things to you.”

 

Nicole shrugs. “It’ll blow over soon enough,” she says, not really sure if that’s true. “He’s always been hard on me. This is just another one of those tough love things.”

 

“You’re sure?” Waverly asks, concern etched in her voice. “”Cause I can ask Gus if you can-“

 

Nicole shakes her head. “No,” she interrupts her. “Everything will be fine,” she tries to assure Waverly. “And I don’t think Gus’ll let me live here. She barely let’s me stay the night on weekends.”

 

“If you really needed to, she’d let you. She loves you.”

 

Nicole smiles softly. “I love her, too.”

 

Waverly caresses Nicole’s face. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

 

“Yeah, baby.”

 

“Okay,” Waverly doesn’t push. “And, for the record, even though I don’t approve of you beating Champ up, I do think it was really sweet how you defended me.”

 

“I’m always going to protect you, Waves. I promise that I will never do anythin’ to hurt you or disrespect you and I sure as hell am not going to let anyone else.”

 

“Those sound like vows,” Waverly teases, smiling.

 

“They just might be,” Nicole teases back, winking.

 

Waverly leans into Nicole. “We’re going to be great, Nicky.”

 

Nicole rests her chin on top of Waverly’s head. “The greatest.”

 

“So,” Wynonna starts as she sits down across from Nicole at the booth, “spill.”

 

Nicole pops a fry into her mouth. She chews and swallows it before telling Wynonna the same thing she told Waverly earlier.

 

“He seriously doesn’t think you and Waverly are going to get married one day?” Wynonna questions. Her eyebrows are furrowed and there’s a look of complete shock on her face. When Nicole nods her head, she says, “Everyone in this town knows that you two are going to get married.”

 

“Right?” Nicole agrees.

 

“And how in the hell are Waverly and I ruining your life?” She asks. “We’ve been best friends since you moved here. It’s not like we just became friends this year.”

 

“Exactly,” Nicole replies. She takes a drink of her soda before adding, “I was so pissed. That’s why I spent the night last night; that’s why I didn’t go home this morning. I’m too afraid of what I’ll say to him; what he’ll say to me.”

 

“He loves you, Nicole,” Wynonna tries to assure her. “I don’t know why he’s having all of these doubts all of a sudden, but don’t let him talk you down.”

 

“I won’t,” Nicole speaks. “Listen, I have something to ask you and I’m not sure how you’re going to feel about it.”

 

“What is it?”

 

Nicole swallows hard. “We hate school,” she starts, “like, we really hate it.”

 

Wynonna nods her agreement.

 

“And college would be fun,” she adds, “but I don’t think we’d be goin’ for the right reasons. We’d be goin’ for the parties and things like that, but not for the actual academic part.”

 

“True.”

 

“So,” Nicole continues, “what if we joined the Army?”

 

Wynonna stops chewing her food and stares blankly at Nicole. “What?”

 

“Hear me out,” Nicole says, trying to put Wynonna at ease. “This country has done a lot for me. It gave me a home; gave me a family,” she tells her. “I want to defend that at all costs,” she adds. “And school has never been our thing, which is why I was thinkin’ we could do this. We love guns and combat and I know that we both love this country.”

 

“Yeah,” Wynonna agrees, “but we could _die_ , Nicole.”

 

“That’s a risk I’m willin’ to take.”

 

Wynonna thinks it over for a moment. “You’re sure about this?”

 

“More sure than I’ve been in a long time,” Nicole admits.

 

“Okay,” Wynonna replies. “So how do we do this?”

 

“Wait, so you’re in?”

 

Wynonna nods her head. “We’re a package deal, Nicole,” she tells her. “And you’re right, we hate school. College would be fun and all, but only the partying portion of it. Serving our country seems like the right thing to do and I just want to make our family proud.”

 

“Me, too.”

 

“So how does this work?” Wynonna asks. She takes a sip of her soda. “What do we have to do?”

 

Nicole leans against the back of the booth. “We have to get in contact with a recruiter so that they can get us signed up. After that, we have to pass a test to see where we would fit best in the Army. Once that is done, we have to go to Basic Training, then we officially become apart of the Armed Forces.”

 

“How do you know all of that?”

 

“I did research,” Nicole replies and Wynonna looks at her weirdly. “I think I finally found somethin’ I’m passionate about and want to do.”

 

“What happens after Basic Training?” Wynonna asks. “Do we get deployed right away?”

 

Nicole shrugs. “It just depends,” she tells her. “And deployment can last up to four years.”

 

“Whoa,” Wynonna breathes out. “That’s a long time.”

 

“I know,” Nicole agrees.

 

“But we’d be doing something good; great even,” She says.

 

“Yeah,” Nicole nods her head. “I’m just worried about-“

 

“Waves,” Wynonna finishes for her, nodding her head in agreement. “She’s not going to take it well.”

 

“Whereas she’ll be happy that we’re goin’ to serve our country, she’s goin’ to be upset since we’re goin’ to be gone for awhile.”

 

“We can write letters, right?”

 

“Absolutely,” Nicole replies. “I think we need to tell everyone together.”

 

“Like have a big dinner or something?”

 

“Yeah, like that,” Nicole responds. “Maybe instead of just me comin’ over for dinner at Gus’s on Sunday, Nedley and Chrissy can come, too. We can tell everyone then.”

 

“Okay,” Wynonna agrees. “Look at us making plans and being adults.”

 

Nicole smiles. She stares at Wynonna for a moment and analyzes the way her dimples show; the way some of her long, brown hair falls softly on her face. Wynonna’s looking at her just as hard, studying her. There’re words that will go unsaid, but, gosh, they’re so _loud_. The words are echoing in each of their minds— _I love you_.

 

Wynonna breaks the moment. “We should head to the game.”

 

“Yeah, but I need to make a quick stop first.”

 

“Save me a seat,” Nicole tells Wynonna as the two of them walk into the stadium.

 

“Will do, Haught-O-Lantern.”

 

Nicole walks down the steps and onto the track that circles the football field. She heads over to the cheerleaders, who are in the middle of stretching. She spots Waverly and smiles.

 

She clears her throat. “Excuse me,” she starts, holding the bouquet of flowers behind her back, “I’m lookin’ for my girlfriend.”

 

Waverly stands up from her stretch and smiles. “Take a break, guys,” she tells the other cheerleaders. She walks up to Nicole. “Hi, sweetie.”

 

“Hi, baby,” Nicole greets her. “You look mighty fine in your uniform.”

 

“Do I?”

 

Nicole looks her girlfriend up and down, biting her bottom lip. “Most definitely,” she replies. “I got you something.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

Nicole nods her head before bringing the bouquet of sunflowers and roses into Waverly’s line of sight. “Pretty flowers for a pretty girl.”

 

Waverly beams and accepts the bouquet. “You’re the sweetest.”

 

“Only the best for my girl,” Nicole smiles.

 

Waverly leans in and pecks Nicole’s lips. “I love you.”

 

“I love you, too, baby,” Nicole whispers, dimples on full display. “I was thinkin’ that after the game, we could…”

 

Waverly nods her head. “Yeah,” she agrees. “But where?”

 

“The lake?” Nicole suggests. “I stopped at my house and got my Challenger.”

 

“You did?” Waverly questions. “Did you talk to Nedley?”

 

Nicole shakes her head. “No, he wasn’t home.”

 

Waverly kisses her again. “I’ll see you after the game?”

 

“For sure,” Nicole assures her before placing a gentle kiss on her cheek, then walking back up the stairs and finding Wynonna.

 

“Sucking up to the misses I see,” Wynonna teases her. She managed to find a spot right next to a few of their other friends—Bobby, Jax, and Ruben.

 

“Put some ice on it, would ya?” Nicole replies, laughing softly. She fist bumps her three other friends. “What’s up, guys?”

 

“Dude, we heard about your fight with Champ this morning,” Ruben tells Nicole. “You’re a badass, you know that?”

 

“Duh,” Nicole says as if it is obvious.

 

“Nicole, when’re you gonna let me ride your motorcycle?” Jax asks. She’s wearing her usual black skinny jeans with an oversized t-shirt, although tonight she has a snapback on.

 

“I would say tonight, but I brought my Challenger here,” Nicole replies.

 

“Why? So you and Waverly can go to the lake?” Bobby asks, wiggling his eyebrows.

 

Nicole smiles. “Well, if you really wanna know…”

 

“Stop,” Wynonna rushes out. “Remember our rule, Haughtpants,” she says, looking at Nicole. “I don’t tell you about my sex life with Doc and you don’t tell me about your sex life with my sister.”

 

Nicole holds her hands up in surrender. “I wasn’t gonna say anythin’.”

 

“Sure,” Wynonna speaks, not believing that for a second. She turns to Jax. “Speaking of sex life, I heard you were trying to get into Samantha Perky-Tits Baker’s pants.”

 

Jax winks at Wynonna. “I was,” she confirms. “But it didn’t work out. She said she’s into Peter Helix right now.”

 

“Ugh,” Wynonna rolls her eyes. “Peter Helix?” She questions. “He’s not even attractive. All he has going for him is his hair.”

 

Nicole laughs. “That’s not even a lie.”

 

Jax shrugs. “I’ll shoot my shot again sometime soon.”

 

“Let me know how that goes,” Wynonna replies and Jax nods her head.

 

“So you dweebs have Saturday detention tomorrow?” Bobby asks, his hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt.

 

Wynonna and Nicole nod their heads.

 

“That’s the price you gotta pay when you’re badasses like us,” Wynonna tells him. “You lame-o’s wouldn’t know that, though.”

 

“I’ll have you know that I had Saturday detention once,” Ruben informs them.

 

“When?” Nicole asks, raising an eyebrow. “I’ve never seen you even so much as mouth off to a teacher, Benny.”

 

“Freshman year,” Ruben starts, “I got Saturday detention for getting caught in the hallway without a hallway pass too many times.”

 

“What a goody-two-shoes,” Nicole laughs.

 

“You have no room to talk about goody-two-shoes, Nicole,” Bobby tells her. “You’re dating one.”

 

“Hey,” Nicole warns him. “Don’t talk about my girl.”

 

“Why? You gonna punch me?” Bobby asks, silently daring her to.

 

Nicole clenches her fists. “I just might.”

 

“Okay, okay,” Wynonna jumps in. “Calm down, Haught. Bobby was only joking,” she assures Nicole. She looks at Bobby, shooting him a look of warning. “Isn’t that right, Bobby?”

 

Bobby nods his head. “Right.”

 

Nicole lets out a deep breath and unclenches her fists.

 

“You should know better, Bobby,” Jax tells him. “Nicole doesn’t mess around when it comes to Waverly. Or Wynonna for that matter.”

 

“I apologize,” Bobby says. “I didn’t mean to cross a line, Haught.”

 

“It’s all good,” Nicole assures him, calming herself down. “So when’re you misfits going to throw another party? That last one was _killer_.”

 

“We were thinking next weekend,” Bobby tells her. “Can you guys come?”

 

Wynonna nods her head. “Hell, yeah, we can.”

 

“What she said,” Nicole comments.

 

“It’s settled, then,” Ruben says. “My parents are gonna be out of town, so I’ll be hosting.”

 

“There will be booze, of course,” Jax adds. “Can’t have a party without ‘em.”

 

“Agreed,” Wynonna replies.

 

“Make sure Champ doesn’t find out about it, though, yeah?” Nicole responds. “I don’t want him there; I don’t want him around Waverly.”

 

“He most definitely will _not_ be there,” Bobby assures Nicole. “We can’t stand him as much as you can’t stand him. He’s an asshole.”

 

“You can say that again,” Ruben says.

 

“The game is starting, whistle heads,” Wynonna tells all of them. “Let’s see if we’re going to continue our losing streak.”

 

“You looked so good out there, baby,” Nicole tells Waverly as she walks with her out to the parking lot. She has her hand on Waverly’s lower back.

 

Waverly blushes. “You’re just saying that.”

 

“No, I’m not,” Nicole replies. “You looked _amazing_ ,” she assures her. “Killer,” she adds. “Beautiful, gorgeous, magnificent-“

 

“Okay,” Waverly cuts her off, laughing. “I get it. Thank you, baby.”

 

“You should’ve seen the way Bobby’s mouth hung open when you did a high kick,” she says. “I had to close it for him and tell him to look elsewhere.”

 

Waverly laughs.

 

“I’m serious,” Nicole says, even though she’s laughing, too. “He looked like a cross-eyed hooligan.”

 

“He can look all he wants,” Waverly replies, leaning into Nicole, “but only _you_ get to touch.” She places one of her hands in the back pocket of Nicole’s jeans.

 

“Speakin’ of touchin’,” Nicole starts, “didn’t we make plans to go to the lake tonight?”

 

Waverly nods her head. “We sure did.”

 

“What’re we waitin’ for, then?” Nicole asks, smiling from ear to ear.

 

“Haught!”

 

Nicole stops and sighs. “Wynonna,” she mutters. “Of course.”

 

Waverly laughs softly. “Settle down, baby.”

 

Nicole turns and faces her best friend. “What’s up, Earp?”

 

“I know you’re planning on staying the night tonight,” she starts, “so let’s go get breakfast before we have to go to Saturday detention.”

 

“Okay,” Nicole agrees. “We can do that.”

 

Waverly grabs her hand and interlaces their fingers. “Is that all you needed, ‘Nonna?”

 

“Yeah,” Wynonna nods her head. “I’m going over to Jax’s for a little bit. See you guys at home.”

 

 _Home_ , Nicole thinks. She thinks about how one day she’ll have a house with Waverly and maybe Wynonna will live with them, too; she thinks about how one day she’ll get to see little Waverly’s running around their house and maybe little Wynonna;s; she thinks about how they’ll all be one big, happy family. They’ll get that one day. It’s just going to take a lot of hard work, but Nicole’s willing to give it all she’s got.

 

Waverly tugs on her hand. “Let’s go.”

 

Nicole blinks a few times. She’s staring at Wynonna, smiling. “See you at home, Earp.” With that, she and Waverly walk to her car and get in. Before Nicole can leave the parking lot, her phone vibrates.

 

Randy Nedley 9:52 p.m: Where are you?

 

“Who is it?” Waverly asks.

 

Nicole pushes the lock button. “Nobody.”

 

Waverly wants to question it, but she decides not to. “Take me to the lake, baby.”

 

Nicole starts the engine and savors the way it roars to life. “Gladly.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What'd ya think?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Chrissy saw you leave Thursday night,” he tells her. “After-“ 
> 
> “You told me that the Earps are ruinin’ my life?” She asks, interrupting him. “Yeah, I remember.” 
> 
> Nedley sighs. “Nicole, I didn’t mean that they were ruining your life,” he tries to assure her. “I meant that you need to get your head on straight. There’s more to life than Wynonna and Waverly.” 
> 
> Nicole swallows hard. “I know that,” she says through gritted teeth. She takes a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down. “You’ve got to understand that they’re the only people who make me feel okay. Well, besides you and Chrissy.” 
> 
> “Nicole-“ 
> 
> “Let me finish,” Nicole urges.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, all! Enjoy another chapter. Things get a little intense. Let me know what you think!

“Are you going home after this?” Wynonna whisper-asks Nicole as the two of them are sitting in the library during Saturday detention.

 

Nicole pushes her hair out of her face. “I planned on it, yeah,” she whispers back.

 

“Good,” Wynonna replies. “I can’t have my best friend living on the streets.”

 

“You’d let me live on the streets? Waverly told me that I could live with you guys.”

 

Wynonna blinks at her. “If Gus would allow it, I’d let you. Duh.”

 

Nicole smiles. “Uh-huh,” she says. She leans back in the chair she’s sitting in. “Gosh, this is so borin’.”

 

Wynonna leans back in the chair she’s sitting in, too. “I know,” she agrees. “Maybe we should think about how boring this is before we wreak havoc.”

 

Nicole just stares at her.

 

Wynonna holds back laughter. “Yeah, you’re right,” she says. “There’s no way we’d be able to not wreak havoc.”

 

“Ms. Earp, Ms. Haught, be quiet,” Mr. Ricardo warns them from his seat behind the librarian’s desk. “You have an hour left. Can’t you just sit there and be quiet for that long?”

 

“No can do, Mr. R,” Wynonna replies. “We’ve been sitting here since eight o’clock in the morning and I’m starting to get restless.”

 

Mr. Ricardo sighs. “Like I said, you only have an hour left. Just sit there, okay?”

 

Wynonna blows a breath.

 

“You know, I think it’s pretty lame how we don’t get to eat food,” Nicole says. “We’ve been here for, like, six hours and my stomach is beggin’ me to eat.”

 

Mr. Ricardo sighs again. “Maybe you should think about that the next time you decide to let all of our PDA rules fly out the window.”

 

Nicole glares at him. “Asshole,” she mutters under her breath. She turns to Wynonna. “We’re still goin’ to tell everyone our plan tomorrow, yeah?”

 

Wynonna nods her confirmation. “Yeah, but you have to make up with Nedley first.”

 

“I know,” Nicole replies. “Will you come over later? I need help polishin’ my bike.”

 

“Yeah, I need to polish mine, too,” Wynonna responds. “Aren’t you staying at my house tonight?”

 

Nicole shrugs. “I was goin’ to, but that was before this whole thing with Nedley,” she tells her. “I don’t know if he’s goin’ to let me since I haven’t been home since Thursday night.”

 

“Right,” Wynonna says. “You’ll let me know how the talk goes?”

 

“‘Course,” Nicole assures her. “If I show up at your house with all of my things, then you’ll know that it didn’t go so well.”

 

“Just shoot me a text and I’ll have a drawer cleaned out for you by the time you get there ‘cause when we go down-“

 

“We go down together.”

 

An hour or so later, Nicole walks through the front door of her house and finds Nedley sitting on the couch watching TV. She softly closes the door and just stands there, waiting for him to acknowledge that she’s there.

 

It takes him a few minutes, but he finally sits all the way up on the couch and looks at her. “Where have you been?”

 

Nicole shifts all of her weight to one leg. “With Wynonna and Waverly.”

 

“Chrissy saw you leave Thursday night,” he tells her. “After-“

 

“You told me that the Earps are ruinin’ my life?” She asks, interrupting him. “Yeah, I remember.”

 

Nedley sighs. “Nicole, I didn’t mean that they were ruining your life,” he tries to assure her. “I meant that you need to get your head on straight. There’s more to life than Wynonna and Waverly.”

 

Nicole swallows hard. “I know that,” she says through gritted teeth. She takes a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down. “You’ve got to understand that they’re the _only_ people who make me feel okay. Well, besides you and Chrissy.”

 

“Nicole-“

 

“Let me finish,” Nicole urges. “I think you’re forgetting that, when I came here, I thought I was just visiting my aunt,” she says. “Come to find out that my aunt didn’t even exist,” she adds. “So there I was, in a place I didn’t know, with practically all of my belongings.” She sighs, feeling her eyes burn. “And then a man—the sheriff—saw me walkin’ the streets of a town I didn’t know and took me home with him,” she says. “He fed me, gave me a bed, and put a roof over my head. At the time, I still thought I would only be stayin’ here for a week; I still thought that my parents were comin’ back to get me.” She blinks away the tears that are forming in her eyes. “But they didn’t,” she adds, her voice wavering. “So there I was, livin’ in a new place with two people I didn’t know. I remember how scared I felt; how uneasy I felt,” she tells him. “And then I met Wynonna and Waverly and somehow everythin’ felt okay again. I had friends, I had a home; I was okay.” She studies Nedley’s face before continuing. “The feelin’ is still there; the feelin’ of my parents not wanting me _haunts_ me,” she says. “Why didn’t they want me?” She asks, but she’s not looking for an answer. No one knows the answer to that question besides her parents. “But I know that you want me,” she tells him. “I know that Chrissy wants me.” She keeps trying to hold back the tears that keep forming in her eyes. “I know that Wynonna wants me,” she adds. “I know that Waverly wants me.” She lets a couple of tears fall from her eyes, but she quickly wipes them away. “And that’s enough,” she says. “You think that I’m too young to know that Waverly is my forever, but I’m not. You guys, all of you, are my family. I’m sure of that.”

 

It looks like Nedley’s eyes are watering, but Nicole isn’t sure because her eyesight is blurry from the tears building up in them. He leans forward on the couch. “From the moment I saw you walking the streets with your belongings, I knew you were going to be important to me,” he tells her. “You looked so lost; so alone, and I wanted to be the one to change that,” he adds. “To this day, I don’t know why your parents did what they did. Who drops their kid off in a random town all alone?” He asks, furrowing his eyebrows. “Nicole, you’re like a daughter to me. I’m hard on you specifically for that reason,” he informs her. “I want you to succeed.” He stares at her for a few moments before continuing. “I’m sorry for saying that Wynonna and Waverly are ruining your life. They’re not. I’m glad you have people who you care so deeply for,” he says. “That’s how I raised you—to surround yourself with people you care about and love them with everything you’ve got.”

 

Nicole fights off more tears. “I’ve never said this, but…” She trails off, rubbing the back of her neck. “You’re like a father to me,” she tells him. “You taught me how to fix up cars, how to be a good sport, and, most of all, you taught me how to love unconditionally.”

 

Nedley offers her a small smile. “You turned out really great, Nicole.”

 

Nicole smiles. “Thank you, sir,” she replies. “And I’m sorry for disappearin’ for a couple days. I had to clear my head.”

 

“I understand,” he responds, “but let’s not let that happen again.”

 

“You got it,” she assures him. “I was wonderin’ if I could stay over at the Earp’s tonight?”

 

Nedley thinks on it for a moment. “I suppose you can, yes,” he says.

 

“Thank you,” she grins. “Oh, and you and Chrissy are invited to Gus’s tomorrow for dinner.”

 

“We’ll be there,” he tells her.

 

Nicole goes to walk towards the stairs, but she stops. She turns back around and walks over to Nedley, who is still sitting on the couch. She quickly hugs him and lets herself enjoy it for a second before she pulls away, then heads up the stairs.

 

She immediately collapses on her bed and feels the exhaustion catching up with her. She’s not sure when or how she fell asleep, but she did. She’s awoken by someone shaking her whole body.

 

“What?” She mumbles, her voice drowning in sleep. She slowly opens her eyes and sees Wynonna all too close to her face. “What’re you doin’?”

 

Wynonna backs up a few inches. “Dude, you were snoozing so hard,” she laughs. “I thought you’d be polishing your bike by now.”

 

Nicole sits up in her bed and looks at her phone. “It’s already five?” She asks. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

 

“Up and at ‘em, Haught-Topic,” Wynonna tells her. “We’ve got bikes to polish. Oh, and change your outfit.”

 

“What’s wrong with my outfit?”

 

Wynonna blinks at her. “You can’t exactly scrub a bike with the restrictions of a leather jacket and I know you’re not going to clean in your favorite pair of jeans,” she says. “And, if I know you at all, you’ll ditch your boots for a pair of old Converse and put on a bandana.”

 

Nicole gets out of her bed and stretches out her muscles. “I’ll be down in five.”

 

“I’ll be waiting.”

 

After Wynonna leaves the room, Nicole takes off her leather jacket, hangs it up, then pulls her t-shirt over her head and tosses it in her dirty laundry hamper. After doing so, she rummages in her shirt drawer and puts on a ripped Harley Davidson t-shirt. She takes off her jeans, puts them in her dirty laundry hamper, then grabs a pair of old jeans with holes in each knee and puts them on. Since Wynonna, in fact, does know her so well, she ditches her combat boots and puts her old, black Converse on, along with a red and white bandana.

 

She heads downstairs and goes out back, where Wynonna has already started polishing her bike.

 

“So I _do_ know you,” Wynonna comments.

 

Nicole rolls her eyes playfully. “Is that somethin’ new?”

 

Wynonna tosses a rag at her. “Get to work, Haught-Ass.”

 

Nicole walks over to her motorcycle and crouches in front of the body of it. “I talked to Nedley.”

 

Wynonna has a look of concentration on her face as she scrubs the body of her motorcycle. “I figured,” she replies. “I take it went well?”

 

Nicole nods her head as she starts scrubbing her motorcycle. “Really well actually,” she responds. “I think he finally understands why I feel the way I do about you guys; about everyone I’m close with.”

 

“So he doesn’t think that Waverly and I are ruining your life?”

 

“No,” Nicole assures her. “He never thought that in the first place,” she adds. “I think he was just confused as to why I feel so strongly about you two.”

 

Wynonna stops scrubbing. “Why do you?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Wynonna shrugs. “Why do you feel so strongly about Waves and me, I mean.”

 

Nicole freezes. “You guys make everything make sense,” she tells her. “We’ve never talked about this, have we?”

 

Wynonna shakes her head. “We’ve only ever established that we love each other, but we’ve never actually said why.”

 

Nicole sits completely sits down on the ground. “Do you remember in seventh grade when we had a snow day and we spent the whole day makin’ snow forts? We even made a small village out of snow.”

 

Wynonna smiles softly. “Yeah, I remember.”

 

“And the time in eight grade when we spent the whole day riding bicycles, dreaming of the day where we’d get to ride motorcycles?”

 

Wynonna nods her head, still smiling. “Yeah.”

 

“Oh, and remember when Curtis taught us how to ride dirt bikes? I can’t believe he trusted middle-schoolers to drive them.”

 

Wynonna feels a wash of sadness come over her. “Yeah,” she manages. “That was a good day.”

 

“They were all good days,” Nicole says, smiling at the thought of the memories. “Those days are what made me realize how much you mean to me. I remember takin’ a step back and just, like, takin’ a mental picture.” She looks at Wynonna. “Those days were the ones that made me feel free, like I could do anythin’ as long as I had you.”

 

Wynonna chews on her bottom lip, something she does when she’s trying to hold back a smart-alloc comment or when she’s trying to hold back tears. Nicole thinks it’s the latter. “I never knew…” She tries, but shakes her head, as if she’s trying to stop herself. “Those days mean a lot to me, too,” she says softly. “And, you know, you do…”

 

“I know,” Nicole assures her. She blinks away a few tears. “Wynonna, I don’t know when exactly I knew you were one of the most important things to me, but I remember small moments that add to how I feel. That’s how it is for everyone who is important to me.” She leans back and rests her weight on her hands. “Like when Nedley taught me how to fix cars or when Chrissy showed me how to use the different kinds of “there”’s correctly.” She smiles. “Or when Waverly walked down the stairs right before going to her eighth grade dance.”

 

Wynonna swallows. “I didn’t realize you did that.”

 

Nicole shrugs. “Just somethin’ I’ve always done,” she tells her. “I remember when my mom came home from gettin’ her hair done and showin’ it to my pop.” She lets herself smile for a moment before it’s washed away with sorrow. “I remember when Curtis told me that music is the greatest possible thing that could happen to this world and when Gus told me that, no matter what I do, I had better do it with respect and curtesy of others.”

 

Wynonna bites her lip again and Nicole thinks she sees her chin quivering. “Now I see why we’ve never had this conversation.”

 

Nicole lets out a breathy laugh. “Yeah, too many feelins.”

 

“Way too many,” Wynonna agrees. She picks up the rag that she had dropped and starts polishing her motorcycle again.

 

Nicole does the same, going back into her crouching position. “Back to work we go.”

 

—

 

Nicole follows Wynonna into the house and watches as she goes straight for whatever Gus is cooking. She laughs as she follows her.

 

“Good evenin’, Gus,” Nicole greets her.

 

Gus smacks Wynonna’s hand, which was about to grab a piece of potato, away before looking at Nicole. “It’s good to see you, Nicole. No more sneaking in through my windows, girl.”

 

Nicole rubs the back of her neck. “I’m sorry about that, Gus.”

 

Gus nods, satisfied with that answer. “Are you doing okay?”

 

Nicole gives her her best smile. “Yes, thank you for askin’.”

 

Wynonna opens the refrigerator and pulls out two Sprites. She hands one to Nicole. “Wanna watch a movie later?”

 

“No _Coyote Ugly_ ,” Gus warns them.

 

Wynonna sighs dramatically. “But, Gus, that’s our _favorite_ movie.”

 

“I don’t care, girl,” Gus replies. “You guys have watched it so many times that I’m surprised the CD isn’t burnt up.”

 

Nicole frowns. “I don’t thi-“

 

“Watch it, Nicole Haught,” Gus warns her.

 

Nicole stops.

 

Wynonna sighs again. “ _Fine_ ,” she mumbles. “We’ll watch something different.”

 

“ _Creed_?” Nicole guesses.

 

“You read my mind,” Wynonna smiles.

 

Nicole cracks open the soda can. “Is Waverly upstairs?”

 

Gus nods. “Chrissy is here, too.”

 

“I’m goin’ to stop in and see her, then I’ll come to your room, ‘Nonna,” Nicole says. She perks up. “Oh, we can listen to our ’80s playlist.”

 

“I can’t believe you girls even like ’80s music,” Gus comments. “Most people your age think that it’s too ‘ancient’.”

 

“Not us,” Wynonna replies. “‘80s music is where it’s at.”

 

Nicole nods. “Agreed.” She turns and walks up the stairs and into Waverly’s room, where she and Chrissy are listening to 5 Seconds of Summer. Waverly’s in the middle of showing Chrissy the new clothes she just got. “It looks and sounds like a middle school slumber party in here.”

 

Waverly drops the shirt she’s holding and runs over to Nicole. “Hi, baby.”

 

Nicole smiles and holds Waverly tightly. “Hi, babe.” She pulls away and kisses her softly. “I was just stoppin’ into say ‘hi’.”

 

“You’re staying tonight, right?”

 

Nicole nods.

 

Waverly smiles. She plays with the ends of Nicole’s ripped t-shirt. “You were polishing your bike, weren’t you?”

 

“Yeah,” Nicole replies. “Wynonna wouldn’t let me change so here I am.”

 

Waverly takes in the way the outfit looks on Nicole. The jeans are baggy but not too baggy and the t-shirt looks way too good on her. Not to mention the bandana completes the whole outfit. “You look _great_ ,” she breathes out.

 

Nicole blushes. “Yeah?”

 

Waverly lets her hands go underneath the hem on Nicole’s t-shirt. “Yeah.”

 

“Okay,” Chrissy interrupts them. “Before you guys start feeling each other up, can I at least leave?”

 

Nicole pulls away from Waverly and feels her face burn.

 

Waverly laughs softly. “Relax, Chrissy. We know how to tame ourselves.”

 

“Uh-huh,” Chrissy says, not believing what she just heard.

 

“I’m gonna go to Wynonna’s room now,” Nicole announces, already backing out of the room. “I’ll see you in a bit, baby.”

 

Waverly winks at her and Nicole feels like she stopped breathing.

 

—

 

“I’m going to bed,” Gus tells the three of them. “You girls be good and don’t make too much noise.”

 

“G’night, Gus,” Nicole says, offering her a small smile.

 

After Gus leaves the living room, Wynonna gets off the couch and walks over to the DVD player.

 

“What’re we watchin’ now?” Nicole asks. She’s sitting in the middle cushion with one of her arms wrapped securely around Waverly, who is barely awake. She’s got half of her body on Nicole, cuddled up under a few blankets.

 

“I’m putting in _Coyote Ugly_ ,” Wynonna tells her as she retrieves the case and pops out the DVD. “I can’t watch _Where the Red Fern Grows_ _2_. The first one is enough for me.”

 

After they had eaten, Gus had suggested that they all watch a movie. Wynonna had sighed and rolled her eyes but agreed. Picking a movie was a whole fight. Wynonna and Nicole, of course, wanted to watch _Creed_ or _The Fast and the Furious_ , but Gus had shook her head. Waverly suggested that they watch _The Princess Bride_ , to which Wynonna and Nicole both gagged. Finally, after too much debating, they all agreed on _Where the Red Fern Grows_.

 

Waverly cuddles further into Nicole. “Sleepy,” she murmurs, her face going to the crook of Nicole’s neck.

 

Nicole starts rubbing her hands up and down Waverly’s back. “Why don’t you go up to bed, baby?” She suggests. “I’ll be up once the movie is over.”

 

“Okay,” Waverly agrees. She moves her head in order to kiss Nicole sweetly. “Night, sweetie pie.”

 

Nicole smiles, unable to resist kissing Waverly again. “Night, my sleepy baby.”

 

Wynonna gags.

 

Waverly laughs softly before getting off of the couch. “Night, ‘Nonna.”

 

Wynonna walks over and gently kisses Waverly’s forehead. “Night, babygirl.”

 

Both Wynonna and Nicole end up falling asleep on together while watching _Coyote Ugly_. They are sharing one blanket while wrapped up together. They didn’t even mean for it to happen, the being snuggled up together. Nicole is lying on her back while Wynonna is on top of her, her face buried in the crook of Nicole’s neck. It’s quite the image, the two of them being this close while sleeping.

 

They’re both woken to the sound of Gus snapping pictures of them while laughing softly. Wynonna sighs into Nicole’s neck while Nicole blinks so her eyes can adjust to the morning light.

 

“What’s going on?” Wynonna muffles into Nicole’s neck, her eyes still closed.

 

Nicole yawns. “We fell asleep.”

 

“I’ll be using these photos as blackmail,” Gus jokes. “Get up, girls, it’s time for Sunday breakfast.”

 

Wynonna lifts her head up. “Morning, Haught.”

 

“Mornin’, Earp,” Nicole says, stifling another yawn. Her body aches for her to stretch. “‘Nonna, move.”

 

“I thought you liked cuddling with me.”

 

“Put some ice on it, would ya?” Nicole fires back, although there’s softness in her voice. “I need to get up and stretch.”

 

Wynonna obliges. “You want some coffee?”

 

Nicole stands up and stretches her muscles. “For sure,” she nods her head. “I’m goin’ to go and wake Waverly up.”

 

Wynonna walks to the kitchen while Nicole makes her way upstairs to Waverly’s room. When she gets in there, Waverly is sound asleep, cuddling the pillow on Nicole’s side of the bed. Nicole smiles and pulls her phone out from her pocket. She snaps a quick pictures before putting her phone back into the pocket of her jeans.

 

_I must have been hella tired to sleep in these_ , she thinks to herself. She walks over to Waverly’s dresser and opens the drawer with her clothes in it. She pulls out a pair of basketball shorts and an old t-shirt and puts them on.

 

She walks over to Waverly’s bed and crawls into it. Waverly immediately cuddles up to her and sighs in sleepy bliss.

 

“Baby,” Nicole tries, holding Waverly close to her. “It’s time to get up.”

 

Waverly shakes her head. “No.”

 

Nicole laughs softly. “Yeah, breakfast is ready.”

 

Waverly groans. “Five more minutes.”

 

“No, because, whenever you say ‘five minutes’, you really mean five hours.”

 

“Damn you for knowing me so well, Nicole Haught.”

 

Nicole smiles. “C’mon, get up.”

 

Waverly rolls away from her. “You never came to bed.”

 

“I fell asleep on the couch with Wynonna.”

 

Waverly finally opens her eyes and sits up in her bed. “I was cold without you.”

 

“Sorry, baby,” Nicole apologizes. “I couldn’t resist Wynonna’s lovin’ arms.”

 

Waverly throws a pillow at her. “Jerk.”

 

Nicole laughs. “You love me.”

 

“Come kiss me to remind me how much,” Waverly challenges.

 

“No can do, babe,” Nicole tells her. “Morning breath.”

 

Waverly huffs. “Technicality.”

 

After they all eat breakfast, Nicole says that she should go home and shower with a promise to return later today with the Nedleys.

 

“You’re going to ride on your motorcycle with a short-sleeved shirt and basketball shorts?” Waverly asks her as Nicole grabs her motorcycle keys. “It’s freezing outside.”

 

Nicole pulls on her leather jacket. “I’ll be fine, baby. It’s not that far.”

 

“You’ll call me when you get there?”

 

“Why so needy, babygirl?” Wynonna asks Waverly, slinging an arm around Nicole’s shoulders. “Haught-Abs here is tough as shit. She’ll be fine.”

 

Waverly glares at her older sister. “I’m _not_ needy,” she huffs. “I’m her _girlfriend_ ; I’m allowed to worry about her.”

 

Wynonna rolls her eyes. “Whatever.”

 

Nicole sighs. “That’s enough, guys,” she says. “I promise I’ll call you as soon as I get home, okay? And, Wynonna, lay off of her.”

 

Wynonna removes her arm from around Nicole’s shoulder. “Whatever you say, boss.”

 

Nicole leans in and kisses Waverly’s cheek. “I’ll see you tonight, babe.”

 

Waverly smiles and grabs the front of Nicole’s shirt. “A _proper_ kiss goodbye.”

 

Nicole makes a face. “We haven’t brushed our teeth yet.”

 

“Who cares?” Waverly replies. “Let’s live on the edge, baby.”

 

_Gosh, I’m so in love with you_ , Nicole thinks to herself.

 

She leans in and quickly kisses Waverly. “There.”

 

“Not your _best_ kiss, but I’ll take it.”

 

“Can you stop being grody now?” Wynonna asks. “You’re literally going to see her in, like, eight hours. Can’t you keep it in your pants until then?”

 

Waverly lets her hands fall to Nicole’s ass. “I don’t think I can.”

 

Nicole blushes. “Later, baby.”

 

“Yeah, later, _baby_ ,” Wynonna agrees.

 

Waverly shoots her a look before looking back at Nicole. “Drive safely.”

 

“I always do,” Nicole assures her. “I love you.”

 

Waverly stands on her tiptoes in order to kiss Nicole on her cheek. “I love you, too.”

 

Nicole turns to Wynonna. “See you later?”

 

“I’ll be here,” Wynonna promises. “I…You…Yeah…”

 

Nicole nods her head. “Yeah, me, too.”

 

Waverly beams and pulls the three of them into a group hug. She kisses Nicole on the cheek, then kisses Wynonna on the cheek. “We all love each other.”

 

“Okay,” Nicole says, offering a tight-lipped smile.

 

Wynonna tries her best to get out of the hug. “Can you not, Waves?”

 

Waverly makes the hug last for a few more moments before she pulls away. “I’m going to go and shower. See you later, sweetie.”

 

Nicole nods her confirmation before shouting a “goodbye” to Gus, then leaving.

 

—

 

When she gets home, there’s an unfamiliar car parked in the spot where she normally parks her motorcycle. She frowns and parks it on the side of the street before heading inside.

 

“I’m home!” She announces as she hangs up her keys. She walks into the living room, but no one’s in there. She’s about to shout again when Chrissy walks into the living room.

 

“Nicky, you’re home,” she observes.

 

Nicole looks at her weirdly. “Yeah?”

 

Chrissy rubs her hands together. “So, um, did you-“

 

“Whose car is outside?” Nicole asks, cutting off whatever Chrissy was about to say.

 

Chrissy pauses for a moment. “You can’t freakout.”

 

Nicole furrows her eyebrows. “Why would I freakout?”

 

Chrissy sighs. “Nicole, your parents are in the kitchen.”

 

Nicole’s eyes go wide. “What?”

 

“Your parents,” Chrissy starts, “are in the kitchen.”

 

“I don’t think I’m hearin’ you correctly,” Nicole replies. “Did you say that my parents are in the kitchen?”

 

Chrissy nods her head. “That’s exactly what I said.”

 

Nicole pushes passed Chrissy and walks into the kitchen, where, sure enough, Nedley and her parents are sitting at the table.

 

Nicole stands there, seemingly frozen in place. She doesn’t realize it, but her hands are balled into fists. She looks anything but happy. Mad, pissed off, angry, yeah, _that’s_ more like it.

 

“Nicole,” Nedley says, “I think you know who these people are.”

 

Nicole swallows hard. “I do,” she confirms, speaking through gritted teeth.

 

Her mother, the one who she got her red hair from, still looks the same. Her hair is short and wavy, she’s wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and Nicole thinks she even has the same purse from all of those years ago.

 

Her dad still has the scruff on his face, his brown hair still parted like the way it was years ago. He’s wearing a suit. _Typical,_ Nicole thinks.

 

“Nicole,” her mother tries, “you’re grown up.”

 

Nicole lets out a breathy, humorless laugh. “That’s typically what happens.”

 

Nedley shoots her a glare. “Nicole, behave,” he warns her. “They came all this way to see you, the least you could do is-“

 

“Are you kiddin’ me right now?!” She practically shouts. “They came all of this way for what?! To _see_ me?! To take me back?! To apologize?!”

 

“Nicole, you haven’t a clue what we went through all those years ago,” her dad tells her.

 

“What _you guys_ went through?!” She asks, raising her eyebrows. “What about what _I_ went through?!” She challenges. “You guys sent me here to ‘visit’ an aunt who didn’t even exist! I was alone and scared!”

 

Her mother makes a pained expression. “Sweetie, if you’d just let us explain-“

 

“I don’t want an explanation,” Nicole interrupts her. “I don’t want _anythin’_ from either of you. I have everythin’ I need right here in Purgatory.”

 

“We aren’t here to try and convince you to come back to Boston,” her dad assures her. “We just want to sit down, like adults, and have a civil conversation about _why_ we did what we did.”

 

Nicole shakes her head. “Who the hell do you think you are?” She asks, anger laced in her voice. “Look, I don’t know if you guys came here so you can feel good about yourselves or whatever, but I have no interest in hearin’ what you have to say. If you’ll excuse me, I’m goin’ to go shower.”

 

“Nicole, _please_ ,” her mother begs.

 

Nicole storms out of the kitchen and practically flies up the stairs. She takes a nice, long shower, then gets out and gets dressed in black jeans cuffed at the ends, a tucked-in white, muscle t-shirt, and combat boots. She towel-dries her hair, then puts on a black and white bandana.

 

There’s a knock on her door and she’s expecting it to be Nedley, but it’s Chrissy.

 

“Chrissy?” She questions as she looks herself over in her full-body mirror. “What’s up?”

 

Chrissy walks into her room and shuts the door. “First of all, Waverly is blowing up my phone because you didn’t call and let her know that you made it home safely.”

 

Nicole sighs and grabs her phone. She sends Waverly a quick text that says something along the lines of “I’m sorry” and “I took a shower as soon as I got home.”

 

“Can we talk?”

 

Nicole nods her head. “About what?”

 

Chrissy sits on the end of Nicole’s bed. “They’re still here, you know. I don’t think they’re leaving anytime soon.”

 

“They can sit in the kitchen for as long as they want,” Nicole replies. “Doesn’t mean I’m goin’ to talk to them.”

 

“That’s the thing,” Chrissy starts, “I think you _should_ talk to them, see what they have to say.”

 

Nicole scoffs. “You’re supposed to be on _my_ side.”

 

“ _I am_ ,” Chrissy assures her. “Which is why I think you should give them a chance to explain themselves. I know you’ve never said it out loud, but you’ve always wondered why they did what they did; why they hurt you.”

 

Nicole sighs. “They only want to explain themselves so they can feel better, doesn’t mean I’m gonna.”

 

“They seem genuine, Nicole.”

 

“They _lie_ for a living; they’re lawyers.”

 

“You’re their kid, though. That _has_ to mean something.”

 

Nicole shakes her head. “No,” she says. “I’m _not_ their kid; I’m the outcome of a late night fuck. They never wanted me, I _know_ that. I’m just another one of their failed projects.”

 

“Nicole…”

 

“Chrissy, I appreciate you carin’, I do,” she tells her. “But you don’t understand what it’s like for the two people, who were supposed to love you more than anythin’ in this world, just _don’t_.”

 

Chrissy stands up. “I guess you’re right. I’ve never had to question my daddy’s love for me, or my mama’s, when she was here.”

 

Nicole readjusts her belt. “I wish I had the chance to meet your mom.”

 

“Me, too,” Chrissy says sadly. “Will you at least think about it? Talking to your parents, I mean.”

 

“I will,” Nicole promises.

 

—

 

Nicole stays in her room for the better part of her day. If she listens closely, she can hear Nedley talking to her parents. She thinks he’s trying to keep them entertained so they won’t leave; so Nicole has more time to think about giving them a chance to explain themselves.

 

It’s nearing time to leave and head to the Earp’s; nearing time for her and Wynonna to tell their family what their future plans are. Nicole’s anxious and she knows Wynonna is, too.

 

When it’s about time to leave, Nicole heads downstairs and grabs the keys to her Challenger. She hears sounds of the TV and people talking. She thinks about going out the back door, but decides against it.

 

She walks into the living room and sees her parents watching TV while socializing withChrissy and Nedley.

 

“It’s time to go to dinner at Gus’s,” Nicole tells Nedley and Chrissy, looking everywhere except at her parents.

 

Nedley looks down at his watch. “It is, isn’t it?”

 

Nicole nods.

 

Chrissy gets off the couch. “I’m going to go put my shoes on.”

 

“It was nice talkin’ to you, Chrissy,” Nicole’s mom smiles.

 

“You, too, Mrs. Haught.”

 

Nicole clenches her jaw.

 

“Nicole, do you mind telling Gus that I can’t make it tonight?” Nedley asks Nicole. “I’m going to go and help your parents get settled into their hotel room.”

 

“Hotel room?” Nicole questions, furrowing her eyebrows.

 

“They’re staying for a week,” Nedley informs her.

 

“Great,” Nicole mutters under her breath. “Look, you have to come tonight. Wynonna and I have somethin’ we need to tell all of you.”

 

“What is it?”

 

Nicole sighs. “We’re tellin’ everyone at once,” she replies. “This is important to me, sir.”

 

“You can go, Randy,” her dad tells him.

 

“He doesn’t need your permission,” Nicole fires at her dad.

 

“Nicole,” Nedley glares at her.

 

“Why are you defending them?!” Nicole yells. She’s sick of this; sick of Nedley playing house with them.

 

“Nicole, there are things you don’t know,” Nedley tries to tell her. “Things that you need to hear.”

 

Nicole scoffs. “Wait, you _know_ why they did what they did?! Why they abandoned me?!”

 

“Nicole…”

 

“You’ve known _this whole time_?!” Nicole screams, tears boiling in her eyes. “All these years I’ve wondered _why_ and this whole _fucking_ time you _knew_!”

 

“Watch your language, Nicole Haught,” her mother chastises her.

 

Nicole, all teary-eyed and frustrated, says, “ _Fuck you_ ,” before turning and storming out of the house.

 

When she gets to Gus’s, she sits in her car for a few minutes to get herself together. She can’t tell anyone about this, not right now; not when it’s too fresh. She plasters on a happy face and walks up to the front door.

 

“Haught!” Wynonna greets her when she opens the door. “Wait, where’s Nedley and Nedley Junior?”

 

Nicole swallows. “Chrissy threw up earlier so Nedley is stayin’ home to take care of her.”

 

Wynonna frowns. “What’re we gonna do, then? Are we still going to tell?”

 

Nicole nods her head. “Yeah, I can just tell them later.”

 

“Okay,” Wynonna agrees before Nicole walks into the house and hangs up her leather jacket.

 

“Where’s Waves?”

 

“In the kitchen helping Gus with dinner.”

 

Nicole walks into the kitchen and smiles when she sees her girlfriend stirring what she thinks is spaghetti noodles. Gus is in the middle of putting the garlic bread in the oven. Nicole walks up behind Waverly and wraps her arms around her from behind.

 

Waverly leans back into her. “Hi, baby.”

 

“How’d you know it was me?”

 

Waverly laughs softly. “Who else is going to wrap their arms around me like this?”

 

“Fair enough,” Nicole says, smiling. She kisses the back of Waverly’s neck. “I missed you.”

 

“I missed you, too.”

 

“Nicole, where’s Randy and Chrissy?” Gus asks her.

 

Nicole tenses a little and it doesn’t go unnoticed by Waverly. “Chrissy puked earlier today so Nedley is takin’ care of her.”

 

“She’s sick?” Waverly asks. “I just talked to her on the phone a few hours ago and she seemed fine.”

 

Nicole shrugs. “She’s been in bed all day. She was sleepin’ when I left.”

 

Waverly turns and looks at her weirdly. “What’s going on?”

 

“Nothin’, baby. She’s sick.”

 

Waverly turns back around and continues stirring the noodles. “Nicole Rayleigh-“

 

“Haught!” Wynonna hollers from the living room. “Come here! There’s reruns of _The Golden Girls_ on!”

 

Nicole lets go of Waverly. “Gotta go, baby.”

 

“We’re not done talking.”

 

“There’s nothin’ _to_ talk about.”

 

—

 

“So,” Wynonna starts after the four of them finished eating and cleaning up, “Nicole and I have something to tell you guys.”

 

Nicole nods. “We do.”

 

Both Gus and Waverly just stare at them.

 

Wynonna looks at Nicole. “Well.”

 

“You know how we said we’re goin’ to college?” Nicole asks them and they both nod. “Well, we decided we aren’t.”

 

“Don’t tell me the two of you are going to spend your days riding around the world with The Banditos,” Gus says. “You girls are better than that.”

 

“We aren’t riding with The Banditos,” Wynonna assures her. “No matter how much we want to,” she adds.

 

“So what’re you guys going to do?” Waverly asks, curiousness written all over her face.

 

Nicole takes in a deep breath before letting it out. “We’re goin’ to join the Army.”

 

Gus’s eyes go wide and Waverly clenches her jaw.

 

“The Army?” Gus questions.

 

Wynonna nods. “We talked it over,” she starts, “and we decided that that’s the best option for us. The appeal to college was the parties and meeting new people, not the academic part.”

 

“Exactly,” Nicole agrees. “And we want to give back to this country. I can’t speak for Wynonna, but this country has done so much for me and I want to show my gratitude.”

 

“Our family is here,” Wynonna adds. “And we want to protect you guys at every cost.”

 

“For sure,” Nicole says.

 

“Well, I think it’s a great idea,” Gus tells the two of them. “Your Uncle Curtis would be so proud of you guys.”

 

“Thank you, Gus,” Wynonna smiles.

 

“Yes, thank you,” Nicole grins. She looks at Waverly, who doesn’t look amused. “Baby?”

 

“Are you idiots?” Waverly asks, her posture tight and tense.

 

“Babygirl,” Wynonna tries, but Waverly starts talking before she can get a sentence in.

 

“Why would you want to risk your lives?” Waverly asks, her voice slightly raising.

 

“We _just_ said why,” Wynonna tells her little sister.

 

Nicole makes a move to try and walk closer to Waverly, but Waverly flinches away and storms up the stairs.

 

Wynonna goes to chase after her, but Nicole stops her.

 

“Let me talk to her, okay?” She says. “She’s just scared. You know how she gets when she’s scared.”

 

Wynonna nods her head. “I know,” she replies. “Remember in eight grade, when we both broke our arms when we wrecked our dirt bikes, and she didn’t talk to us for _a week_?”

 

“Exactly,” Nicole responds. “I’ll be right back.”

 

When she gets into Waverly’s room, she’s pacing back and forth.

 

_Figures_ , Nicole thinks to herself.

 

“Baby,” she tries, speaking softly. “Can we talk?”

 

Waverly stops pacing and looks at her. Her eyes are visibly watery and there’s a look of terror on her face.

 

“Waves…”

 

Waverly walks up to her and shoves her back. “You idiot!”

 

“Waverly,” Nicole tries again.

 

Waverly shoves her again, making her momentarily lose her balance. “You _fucking_ idiot!”

 

“Waves, c’mon.”

 

Another shove, this one making Nicole hit Waverly’s closed bedroom door. “You careless idiot!”

 

Nicole sighs. “Are you done shovin’ me?”

 

Waverly is breathing heavily, something she does when she’s beyond pissed. “How could you be so careless?”

 

“How am I bein’ careless?”

 

“You could _die_ , Nicole!” Waverly yells at her. “Wynonna could _die_! Then what, huh?!”

 

Nicole pushes off the the closed door and tries to reach for Waverly.

 

“Don’t fucking touch me right now!”

 

Nicole steps back. “This is somethin’ I need to do, Waves; somethin’ Wynonna and I need to do.”

 

“What about me?!” Waverly shouts, tears streaming down her face. “What about me?!” She repeats after a moment.

 

Nicole pulls Waverly into her arms, holding her tightly against her. Waverly cries into her chest, gripping onto Nicole for dear life. “Waves, I’m goin’ to fight for this country; fight for you. I don’t know what fate that will bring me, but I’m willin’ to take that risk. So is Wynonna.”

 

“I can’t lose you, Nicole; I can’t lose either of you,” Waverly cries, her voice muffled against Nicole’s chest. “I’d go mad.”

 

“You’re not goin’ to lose either of us, okay?” Nicole tries to assure her. “We’re goin’ to fight like hell to stay alive; fight like hell to come home to you.”

 

Waverly pulls away from her. There’s snot smeared on her nose and her eyes are red. “You promise?”

 

“I promise,” Nicole says. “I need your support, though, Waves. I can’t do this without it; without you.”

 

Waverly wipes her eyes with her hands. “You have my support, Nicole,” she assures her. “I’m going to be here every step of the way, I promise you that, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to be scared.”

 

“I know,” Nicole replies. “I love you, Waverly. You’re the love of my life.”

 

Waverly smiles. It’s a sad, scared, but love-filled one. “I love you, too, Nicole. You’re the absolute love of my life.”

 

Nicole leans into seal their love with a kiss, but before their lips connect, there’s a knock on the door.

 

“I don’t mean to interrupt,” comes Wynonna’s voice through the door. “Can you open the door?”

 

Nicole walks over to the door and opens it. “What’s up, Earp?”

 

“Nedley and Chrissy are here,” Wynonna tells her.

 

“I thought you said Chrissy was sick?” Waverly asked Nicole.

 

“I-“

 

“There’s something else,” Wynonna cuts her off.

 

Nicole’s eyes go wide as she silently hopes and prays Wynonna’s isn’t about to say what she thinks she’s about to say.

 

“What?” Waverly asks, a look of confusion on her face.

 

“Nicole, your parents are here, too.”

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I can’t do this,” Nicole interrupts her before spitting into the small trashcan. She calms down enough to fully stand back up and catch her breath. “I don’t wanna go down there.” 
> 
> “You’re not alone in this, baby,” Waverly assures her as she wraps her arms around her. 
> 
> “Yeah,” Wynonna agrees. “We got your back, Haught; we always have.” 
> 
> Nicole blows out a breath. “I’m scared,” she admits. “I don’t even know who they are anymore; they’re strangers.” 
> 
> “Look, we can leave, okay?” Wynonna says. “The three of us can go eat at Shorty’s.” 
> 
> Nicole shakes her head. “No,” she replies. “I need to face them. I’m not a coward.” 
> 
> “Are you sure you want to do this, Nicole?” Waverly asks. “Because you don’t have to. You know that, right? No one is pressuring you; this is your decision.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, all! Enjoy another chapter of this story. This one is packed with a lot of information and I kind of formed it into a cross-over. Is that alright with you guys? I've always wanted to do this kind of crossover! Anyway, all feedback is appreciated. Enjoy and thank you for reading!

“Nicole, your parents are here, too.”

 

Nicole takes in a sharp breath.

 

Waverly’s eyebrows furrow together as she looks at Nicole. “Your parents are in Purgatory?”

 

Nicole nods her head. “They were at my house when I got home earlier.”

 

“Why the hell didn’t you tell us?” Wynonna asks, raising her eyebrows. There wasn’t anger in her voice. There was more curiousness than anything.

 

“I’m still tryin’ to process it,” Nicole tells the both of them. “I haven’t seen them in five years and they suddenly just show up?”

 

“Did they say why they’re here?” Waverly asks.

 

“They want to explain themselves,” Nicole replies. “I don’t want to talk to them; I don’t want anythin’ to do with them.”

 

“Nicole!”

 

Nicole tenses at Nedley’s voice.

 

“Nicole, come down here!”

 

“I can’t,” Nicole mumbles, breathing heavily. She bends over, her hands on her knees, and tries to catch her breath. “ _Oh, shit_ ,” she says under her breath. “I’m goin’ to puke.”

 

Waverly grabs her little trashcan and sets it in front of Nicole, who looks more pale than normal.

 

“Nicole!” Comes Nedley’s voice again.

 

“Give us a minute!” Wynonna hollers back, annoyance and anger laced in her voice. “What’s his deal?” She asks. “Isn’t he supposed to be on _your_ side during this? Doesn’t he dislike them as much as you do?”

 

Nicole, who is still in the same position, shakes her head. “Apparently he’s known this whole time why they did what they did.”

 

“That fu-“

 

“I can’t do this,” Nicole interrupts her before spitting into the small trashcan. She calms down enough to fully stand back up and catch her breath. “I don’t wanna go down there.”

 

“You’re not alone in this, baby,” Waverly assures her as she wraps her arms around her.

 

“Yeah,” Wynonna agrees. “We got your back, Haught; we always have.”

 

Nicole blows out a breath. “I’m scared,” she admits. “I don’t even know who they are anymore; they’re _strangers_.”

 

“Look, we can leave, okay?” Wynonna says. “The three of us can go eat at Shorty’s.”

 

Nicole shakes her head. “No,” she replies. “I need to face them. I’m not a coward.”

 

“Are you sure you want to do this, Nicole?” Waverly asks. “Because you don’t have to. You know that, right? No one is pressuring you; this is your decision.”

 

“I know, baby,” Nicole says, offering Waverly a small smile. “As long as I have the two of you, I can do anythin’.”

 

—

 

Nicole looks her parents up and down. Wynonna is standing next to her, a look of determination and warning on her face. Waverly is standing on the other side of her, her arms crossed with a slight scowl on her face.

 

“Why did you bring them here?” Nicole asks Nedley, annoyance and anger filling her voice.

 

“The way you left wasn’t fair,” her father jumps in.

 

Nicole laughs with no real humor. “Are you serious right now?” She questions, raising her eyebrows. “The way _you two_ left wasn’t fair.”

 

“Look, if Nicole doesn’t want you guys here, then I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” Gus tells Nicole’s parents.

 

“Do you want us here, Nicole?” Her mother asks.

 

“I think she’s made it _very_ clear that she doesn’t,” Wynonna chimes in, her voice dripping with anger.

 

“Excuse me,” Nicole’s father starts, “who are _you_?”

 

“I’m her best friend,” Wynonna says through gritted teeth.

 

“I don’t exactly see how you’re relevant in this situation,” Nicole’s father replies.

 

Wynonna tries to step to him, but Nicole holds up her arm, stopping her. “She _is_ relevant; she’s _always_ relevant.” She takes a deep breath in, then lets it out. “She means _everythin’_ to me. Her and my girlfriend.” She looks at Waverly and reaches for her hand, interlacing their fingers.

 

“Girlfriend?” Her mother asks.

 

“Yes, _girlfriend_ ,” Waverly confirms, her head held high.

 

“Oh,” Cindy, Nicole’s mother, says.

 

Nicole sighs. “Wynonna’s right, I don’t want you guys here,” she tells her parents. “But Nedley, Gus, and Curtis didn’t raise me to be rude, so you guys can stay for dinner.”

 

Gus gives her a look of approval, proudness written all over her face. “Should be ready in five minutes.”

 

“Who’s Curtis?” William, Nicole’s father, asks.

 

“He was half the man you’ll ever be,” Wynonna fires at him.

 

“Curtis,” Gus cuts in, “is my late husband.”

 

“I’m terribly sorry for your loss,” Cindy says to Gus.

 

“I’m goin’ to go set the table,” Nicole says, brushing passed her parents and into the kitchen, Wynonna and Waverly trailing behind her.

 

Once they were all in the kitchen, Nicole grabbed eight plates and set them on the table. She did this every Sunday, although usually she would only set four plates. Sometimes she would set five if Doc Holliday joined them. Wynonna grabs the cutlery, setting them on the table like she does every Sunday. Waverly grabs the napkins. None of them talk; they’re not sure what to say. Usually, they will make small talk about _Sons of Anarchy,_ comment on what schoolwork they have to do, or crack jokes back and forth.

 

Wynonna is the first one to talk. “We can still bail. It’s not too late.”

 

Nicole ponders it for a moment. They _could_ leave. Like Wynonna said before, they could go to Shorty’s, eat burgers and drink milkshakes, then go to their spot in the woods. The thought is enough for Nicole to seriously consider it, to leave her parents like they left her. Deciding she can’t do that, she shakes the thought from her head. “We can’t,” she replies. “We’ll eat dinner, then the three of us can go do somethin’, yeah?”

 

“I think that’s a great idea,” Waverly smiles, walking up next to Nicole and standing on her tiptoes in order to kiss Nicole’s cheek. “You okay?” She asks, whispering the question in her ear.

 

Nicole nods. “I’ve been better,” she admits.

 

—

 

_This is torture_ , Nicole thinks as she sits in her spot between Wynonna and Waverly. Her parents are sitting right across from her, talking to Gus and Nedley like they’ve been friends their whole lives. Chrissy is sitting next to Nedley, looking down at her plate. Wynonna is scowling at Nicole’s parents while Waverly has a tight grip on her thigh, rubbing soothing circles on it and shooting her parents dirty looks every chance she gets.

 

Nicole hasn’t said a word to either of her parents. They haven’t tried talking to her, which she’s okay with. She doesn’t want to be here, sitting at this table, any longer. She’d rather be with Wynonna in her room, blaring their playlist, or with Waverly, curled up on her bed while whispering words of love and promise to one another.

 

Instead, she sits still. She’s only eaten a bite of her steak and she hasn’t even touched her mashed potatoes. _I don’t want to eat_ , she thinks to herself. _I want to be on my motorcycle; I want to blast my music so loud that I can’t even hear myself think; I want to be alone with Wynonna and Waverly_.

 

Waverly stops rubbing her thigh and looks at her plate. She looks at Nicole. “Why aren’t you eating, baby?”

 

Nicole sighs, averting her parent’s stares. “Not hungry.”

 

Waverly furrows her eyebrows. “You _love_ steak,” she points out. “And mashed potatoes.”

 

Nicole shrugs. She scoots her chair back, the noise loud on the wooden floors. Gus shoots her a glare and Nicole can almost hear the criticism. _Don’t you scratch up my floors, girl,_ she hears. _This is real hardwood_. She doesn’t say anything as she walks out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

 

“Excuse me,” she hears Waverly say, then she hears the pitter-patter of Waverly’s fuzzy-socked feet following her.

 

Once she reaches the top of the steps, Nicole comes to a halt. She waits for Waverly to catch up with her before she turns and faces her.

 

“What’s wrong?” Waverly asks her, concern etched in her voice.

 

“I couldn’t sit there any longer,” Nicole admits. “The silence was too much; their stares were too much.”

 

Waverly reaches for her and rubs her arms soothingly. “What do you wanna do, baby?”

 

“I don’t know,” she replies. “A part of me is sayin’ to blow them off and forget they even came her, but another part of me is sayin’ to give them a chance; let them explain themselves.”

 

“You know that no matter what you decide, Wynonna and I are going to be by your side.”

 

“I know,” Nicole nods. “I have a week to think about it.”

 

“A week?”

 

“Yeah, they’re stayin’ here for a week,” Nicole informs her. “Not at my house, _thank God_ ,” she breathes. “You know what really pisses me off?” She asks, but doesn’t wait for Waverly to answer. “The fact that Nedley is on their side, practically forcing me to let them explain why they did what they did.”

 

“Maybe he has good reason,” Waverly says.

 

Nicole shrugs. “Maybe.”

 

“Haught?”

 

Nicole turns her head and sees Wynonna standing on the last step, looking at her with concerned eyes.

 

“Waves, can I have a minute with her?” Wynonna asks Waverly.

 

“‘Course,” Waverly assures her older sister. She kisses Nicole’s cheek before making her way back downstairs.

 

Wynonna walks closer to Nicole. “You okay?”

 

“Honestly? No.”

 

“I can see why,” Wynonna says. “Your parents seem like selfish assholes.”

 

Nicole lets out a breathy laugh. “They’ve always been that way. At least for the twelve years I lived with them.”

 

“They’ve been here for, what, five minutes and they’re already causing wreak-havoc.”

 

Nicole nods. “I don’t wanna go back down there.”

 

“Wanna go to our spot?” Wynonna asks her. “I’ve got a case of beer, that we can sneak out of here, under my bed.”

 

“Can Waves come, too?”

 

“Obviously,” Wynonna replies. “We’re not just going to leave her here to sit in the awkwardness.”

 

—

 

They made it out of the house with a promise to Gus that they would be home by ten but not before asking if Nicole could stay the night. Granted, it is a school night, but Gus knows Nicole is going through a lot right now so she agreed it to it.

 

They make it to their spot, the one Nicole took Waverly too that one time. As soon as they sit down on a huge log, Wynonna hands Nicole a beer before popping one open herself.

 

Nicole takes a long swig from her beer. “I didn’t realize how badly I needed this right now,” she says softly before taking another long swig from it.

 

“Wait,” Wynonna starts, digging into the back pocket of her jeans. “These will help, too.” She holds up a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. “Here you go, Haught.”

 

Nicole accepts the offer. She takes a cigarette out of the pack, lights it, and takes a long drag from it. “Holy shit,” she breathes, smoke coming out of her mouth as she does so. “Cigarettes have never tasted so good.”

 

Wynonna takes the pack and lights a cigarette for herself. “Agreed.”

 

“You know that you guys aren’t going to be able to smoke when you join the Army, right?” Waverly says.

 

“We _know_ , Waves,” Wynonna replies. “That doesn’t mean we have to quit now.”

 

“You _could_ quit now, though,” Waverly pushes, leaning into Nicole’s side.

 

“Not gonna happen, baby,” Nicole tells her girlfriend. “Senior year is full of stress and this is how we take the edge off.”

 

“I have something that could take the edge off,” Waverly suggests, wiggling her eyebrows.

 

“Is that so?” Nicole questions, smiling softly.

 

“Okay, _ew_ ,” Wynonna gags. “Keep it in your pants, babygirl.”

 

Nicole takes a swig from her beer, then takes a hit from her cigarette. “I don’t know what to do about my parents.”

 

“Maybe you should just hear them out,” Wynonna says. She takes a drag from her cigarette and blows out smoke before adding, “Just so you can get it over with; just so they’ll leave you alone.”

 

“What if they _don’t_ leave me alone?” Nicole asks, sighing. She finishes off her beer and grabs another one. “I get that they’re my parents and all, but they _abandoned_ me.” She pops the cap on the beer bottle and drinks half of it. “I’m goin’ to need a lot more of these.”

 

“It’s a school night,” Waverly reminds her.

 

“School night, schmool night,” Wynonna says. “If Haught-Hair wants to get drunk, then that’s _exactly_ what we’re doing.”

 

“We have to be home by ten,” Waverly tells them. “And, in case you didn’t know, I don’t have a motorcycle license and there are _two_ motorcycles here.”

 

Wynonna sighs. “ _Fine_ ,” she huffs. “Give me the beer, Haught.”

 

Nicole finishes her second beer, then finishes off her cigarette. “Okay, we won’t get drunk, baby,” she promises Waverly. “Not tonight anyway,” she adds.

 

Waverly wraps her arms around Nicole’s middle. “Thank you,” she says. “Can we just sit here and just _be_?” She asks the two of them. “Like we used to when we would sit on the fence and watch Uncle Curtis tend the garden.”

 

Nicole slings an arm around Waverly’s shoulder, pulling her in close. She uses her other arm to pull Wynonna against her. “Of course we can.”

 

_“Wynonna, will you grab be a bottle of water?” Twelve-year-old Waverly asked her older sister as she climbed the fence._

 

_“Ugh,” Wynonna groaned. “I guess,” she said, turning on her heels and going back inside. “You owe me!” She shouted through the almost closed backdoor._

 

_Nicole slung her leg over the fence, then slung the other one over. She scooted close to Waverly, smiling at her. “How was your first day of middle school, Waves?”_

 

_“It was amazeballs,” Waverly beamed. “It’s so cool how you get to switch classrooms every fifty minutes rather than staying in the same classroom with the same teacher all day.”_

 

_Nicole took a mental image of the way Waverly looked right then. Her growing brown hair was glistening in the sunlight, her eyes shining brighter than Nicole had ever seen them. She was in a tank-top and jean shorts, the hot August day making her skin softly shine. She was beautiful and Nicole would tell her that one day._

 

_“Here,” Wynonna said, shoving the bottle of water into Waverly’s hands. She was on the opposite side of Nicole. “Uncle Curtis isn’t out here yet?”_

 

_Nicole shook her head. “He might be fillin’ the water bucket.”_

 

_Waverly took a drink of her water. “I’ve got no problem waiting for him.”_

 

_“Me either,” Nicole agreed._

 

_Wynonna leaned into Nicole, something she became accustomed to awhile ago. “It’s nice out here,” she said. “Quiet, but nice.”_

 

_Nicole wrapped her arms around the Earp girls’ shoulders and pulled them close. “So nice.”_

 

“It’s nice out here,” Waverly says, trying to get closer to Nicole, if that’s even possible.

 

“So nice,” Nicole agrees. _This is what I need_ , she thinks. _The quiet and my girls._ She places a kiss on each of their heads.

 

—

 

“Baby, wake up,” Waverly says as she shakes Nicole awake.

 

Nicole groans. “What time is it?”

 

“Time for school,” Waverly informs her as she walks over to dresser and pulls out a pair of Nicole’s old jeans and a black muscle shirt. “Here,” she says, tossing the clothes on the end of the bed. “C’mon, Nicky, time to get up.”

 

Nicole groans again and rolls over, opening her eyes. “I’m up,” she mumbles. She sits up and rubs the sleep from her eyes. “I’m not goin’ to school, though.”

 

“Yes, you are,” Waverly says sternly.

 

“No, I’m not,” Nicole argues. “I’m goin’ to talk to my parents.”

 

Waverly freezes. “You are?”

 

Nicole nods her head as she gets out of bed and takes off her t-shirt, tossing it in Waverly’s dirty hamper. _I’m never gettin’ that back,_ she thinks to herself. “I need to hear what they have to say, no matter how much I don’t want to.”

 

Waverly watches as Nicole picks up her jeans and slides them on. “Do you want me to go with you?”

 

Nicole zips her jeans. “No, baby,” she says, grabbing the muscle shirt and pulling it over her head. “You _hate_ missin’ school.”

 

“I do,” Waverly agrees, “but, if you want me to go with you, I can skip school.”

 

Nicole tucks in her shirt. “Thank you for the offer, babe,” she smiles, “but this is somethin’ I have to do alone.”

 

“You’re sure?”

 

“Postive,” Nicole assures her. She slips on a pair of socks that Waverly throws at her. “I’ll keep you updated, okay? I promise.”

 

“Okay,” Waverly says. “Will you at least stay for breakfast? You didn’t eat dinner last night and I know you’re hungry.”

 

As if on queue, Nicole’s stomach growls. “You’re right about that.”

 

—

 

As Nicole stands outside of her parent’s hotel room, she second guesses herself. She raises her hand to knock but stops before her hand can touch the door. _Maybe I should just go to school_ , she thinks to herself. _Maybe I don’t need to hear what they have to say._

 

She sighs and knocks. She hears muffled voices through the door, then hears footsteps walking towards the door. She shoves her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket and blows out a breath.

 

After a few more moments of waiting, she watches as the door opens.

 

“Nicole?” Her mother questions, as if not believing that Nicole is really standing in front of her. “I didn’t think you were goin’ to let us talk.”

 

“I wasn’t goin’ to,” Nicole replies.

 

“I’m glad you changed your mind,” Cindy smiles softly.

 

“I haven’t changed my mind,” Nicole tells her. “As far as I know, you two are the same people who shipped me away like I was nothin’.”

 

“Please, let us explain,” her father practically begs as he approaches the door. “We can take you out to breakfast and talk.”

 

“I already ate with the Earps,” Nicole says.

 

“We can talk here, then?” Cindy suggests.

 

Nicole nods. “Here is fine.”

 

“Come in,” William says as both he and Cindy move out of the way in order for Nicole to walk into the hotel room. “Do you want something to drink? We just made some coffee.”

 

“I’m good,” Nicole replies. She clears her throat. “So, uh, can we just get right into it?”

 

“Actually, we wanted to hear about how you’ve been,” Cindy responds. “How did you meet Wynonna and Waverly? They seem like nice girls.”

 

Nicole sighs. She didn’t come here for this; didn’t come here to catch up. She wants to know why her parents did what they did; why they made her feel like she was unlovable; why they made her feel like there was something wrong with her. “Can we not do this?” She asks. “Look, I came here to get answers and you’ve been tellin’ me you have them.”

 

“We do,” William assures her.

 

“Okay,” Nicole says slowly. “So what are they?”

 

“Are you sure you want to jump right into it?” Cindy asks, raising her eyebrows.

 

Nicole leans against the wall, her hands still tucked into the pockets of her leather jacket. “I’m sure,” she assures her mother. “I’ve been waitin’ a long time.”

 

William steps forward, fixing his tie as he does so. Nicole knows he only fixes his tie when he’s nervous or thinking too much. “First of all, we want to start by sayin’ that your Aunt Mel was a real person.”

 

“Really?” Nicole questions. “Could’ve pulled a fast one on me.”

 

“She _was_ real,” Cindy says, sitting on the end of the queen-sized bed. “She was my older sister and I loved her, Nicole; I did.”

 

“But she wasn’t here when you sent me here.”

 

“She died,” Cindy informs her. “Not too long after you were born, she died.”

 

Nicole runs a hand through her short, red hair. “Okay, so then why did you tell me you were sendin’ me here to stay with my Aunt Mel?”

 

William sighs. “We didn’t want to say, ‘hey, Nicole, we’re goin’ to send you to Canada to stay with a family that you don’t know and we don’t know when we’re comin’ to get you.’”

 

“Can you just tell me why you sent me here in the first place?” Nicole asks. She’s starting to become impatient and her fingernails are digging into the palms of her hands.

 

William looks at Cindy, then back at Nicole. “When you were five, you were kidnapped.”

 

Nicole blinks. “What?”

 

Cindy sighs. “It’s true,” she says. “You went with me to the mall so I could get a new outfit for court the next morning. It was my first huge case,” she tells Nicole. “You were with me, right by my side, as I scanned the different outfits the stores had,” she adds. “While I was in one of the stores, I turned my head for one moment to grab a shirt, and, when I turned to show you, you were gone.”

 

Nicole starts breathing heavily. _The nightmares,_ she thinks. _This explains the nightmares I’ve been havin’ for years._

 

“I searched the whole mall for you, screamin’ your name,” her mother continues. “I couldn’t find you anywhere. I informed mall security, the police, everyone. You were nowhere to be found. Even the security cameras didn’t catch anythin’.”

 

Nicole feels tears burning in her eyes and she squeezes her fingernails harder into the palms of her hands.

 

“You were missing for months,” her father continues for Cindy, who is trying to keep it together. “I don’t think we slept the entire time you were gone,” he adds. “We searched for you day and night. We didn’t care about work or anything else; all we wanted was our little girl back.”

 

Nicole swallows and her throat _aches_. “Where did you find me?”

 

“In Wyoming,” Cindy says, wiping the tears that fall from her eyes. “He had you in some cottage in the woods.” She takes in a deep breath, then lets it out. “We would have never found you if he wouldn’t have taken you into town one day after he thought everything had passed; after he thought that we had given up on you.”

 

“A man in town recognized you,” William tells her. “We had the whole damn country lookin’ for you. One day, the police got a call from this man, sayin’ that he saw you with a guy. He said that he followed you and the guy to the cottage. The police came and you were saved. We got on the first flight to Wyoming we could and we got you back.”

 

Nicole digs her fingernails even further into the palms of her hands. “Who was it? Who saved me?”

 

“Randy Nedley.”

 

Nicole chokes on her own spit. She’s coughing uncontrollably now, bent over and dry heaving.

 

“Nicole?” Cindy questions, concern laced in her voice.

 

Nicole holds up a hand. “I’m fine,” she manages between coughs. It takes a few moments, but she eventually stops coughing and catches her breath. “Randy Nedley saved me? How is that even possible? He lives here. Why was he in Wyoming?”

 

“He was there visitin’ his family. His mother, I think,” William tells her.

 

“How did I not remember any of this?” Nicole asks, eyebrows furrowed.

 

“The therapist said that your brain would most likely block off any memory you had of all of it,” Cindy informs her.

 

“Therapist?” Nicole questions.

 

Cindy nods her head. “As soon as we got you back, we put you in therapy,” she says. “It was recommended and we wanted to do what was best for you.”

 

“This is too much,” Nicole breathes out. “Holy shit, this is too much.”

 

“We know,” William speaks. “Nicole, the reason we had to send you here was because the guy who kidnapped you got out of prison,” he tells her. “We didn’t want to take any chances so we decided to send you away. When we were plannin’ it, we didn’t know where exactly to send you; where you would be the safest.”

 

“Then we thought of Randy Nedley because, well, he was the one who saved you,” her mother continues for her father. “We reached out to him and he agreed to it. He said that nothin’ would make him happier than makin’ sure you were safe, for as long as it takes.”

 

“So you guys sent me away because you love me, not because you don’t love me?”

 

“Exactly,” Cindy confirms. “We knew that sendin’ you away was risky bein’ that you didn’t remember any of what happened to you, but we couldn’t take the chance of you gettin’ kidnapped again. Randy has updated us on you every couple of weeks ever since we sent you here.”

 

Nicole blinks away tears that are forming in her eyes. “All this time, I thought that there was somethin’ wrong with me; thought that I was disposable.”

 

“Oh, honey, no,” her mother rushes to her. “Nicole, you’re the greatest thing that has ever happened to us.”

 

“Except,” William says.

 

“Except,” Cindy agrees.

 

“Except?” Nicole questions.

 

“Nicole, you have a sister.”

 

The walls seem as if they are closing in on Nicole. The room is getting smaller and smaller, making Nicole breath harder and harder. “I…what?”

 

Cindy sighs. “We were young,” she starts, “I was still in college and your father was in law school.” She swallows. “We didn’t have the time or the money for a baby,” she adds. “After I birthed her, I gave her up for adoption.”

 

“What the _fuck_?” Nicole’s stomach starts to hurt as the feeling of nausea takes over her stomach.

 

“We’ve kept in contact with her, though,” William speaks up. “Her adopted parents have been updating us on her ever since we gave her up for adoption. We’ve talked to her and we’ve seen her a couple of times. She’s beautiful, Nicole, and so much like you.”

 

Nicole sighs. “I have a sister?” She asks and watches as both of her parents nod. “What’s…what’s her name?”

 

“Alexandra Danvers.”

 

“Danvers?”

 

William nods his head. “That’s the last name of her adopted parents.”

 

“Does she…” Nicole trails off, unsure of what to say or do. “Does she know about me?”

 

“She’s known about you this whole time,” Cindy tells her. “We didn’t want to lie to her about anythin’ ever. She knows exactly why we had to give her up for adoption and everythin’ that came after that.”

 

“But you were okay with lyin’ to me?”

 

“We didn’t lie to you,” Cindy says. “We just didn’t tell you.”

 

“How old is she?”

 

“Twenty-four,” Her father tells her.

 

“I need a minute to process all of this,” Nicole replies, shoving her hands back into the pockets of her leather jacket. “This is a lot.”

 

“We understand,” William responds. “Would it be alright if we took you to dinner tonight? You and your girlfriend. Waverly, was it?”

 

Nicole nods. “Yeah, that’s…that’s fine.” She heads for the door. “Can Wynonna come, too?”

 

“Of course,” Cindy smiles. “Wait, Nicole.”

 

Nicole stops. “Yeah?”

 

“Here,” Cindy hands her a white envelope. “It’s from Alex. We told her we were comin’ to see you and she wanted us to give this to you.”

 

Nicole takes the envelope and leaves without saying another word.

 

She drives back to her house and opens the letter as soon as she sits on the couch.

 

_Dear Nicole,_

 

_I’ve always known that you are my sister, but you’ve never known that you’re mine. I know how shitty that sounds; how shitty it must be. Our parents are good people, no matter how much we want to believe they’re not. I’m sorry for everything you’ve had to go through. I’ve gone through some shit, too, let me tell you._

 

_I want to meet you, Nicole. I’ve only ever seen pictures of you and I know you haven’t seen any of me. Again, I know how shitty that sounds; how shitty it must be. I live in National City, California, and I work for a government agency. I love it here; I love my job, which is why I’m not mad at our parents for what they did. If they would have never given me up for adoption, then I would have never gotten to know my adopted parents; I would have never gotten to know my adopted sister (Her name is Kara and she’s great); I would have never gotten to meet the love of my life, Maggie Sawyer. By giving me up for adoption, our parents gave me so many opportunities; they gave me a chance and, for that, I am grateful._

 

_If you don’t want to meet me, I understand. Hell, if you even want to pretend I don’t exist, I understand. I asked our parents to give this letter to you once they told you about me so I know that you’re going through a lot right now. I’ve always been with you, even when you didn’t know I existed. If you write me back; if you give me a chance to let me be your big sister, I promise I won’t hurt you; I promise I won’t do wrong by you. If you don’t, like I said, I’ll understand._

 

_Your sister, with love,_

 

_Alex Danvers_

 

“ _Holy shit_ ,” she breathes out as she holds the letter in her hands. “I have a sister.”

 

—

 

Nicole walks into the police station and stops at the front desk.

 

“Nicole,” one of the rookies greets her.

 

_Lonnie_ , Nicole thinks to herself. _That’s his name_.

 

“Hey,” Nicole replies. “Is my…is Nedley in?”

 

“Yeah, but he’s about to go in his lunch break.”

 

Nicole offers him a tight-lipped smile before she makes her way to Nedley’s office. When she gets there, he’s in the middle of finishing his midday coffee. She softly knocks on the side of the opened door.

 

“Nicole?” He questions. “What’re you doing here? Why aren’t you at school?”

 

“I didn’t go today, sir,” she tells him. “I figured the school would’ve called you.”

 

“I’ve been busy all morning so I haven’t taken any calls,” he replies. “Why didn’t you go? Are you sick?”

 

Nicole shakes her head. “I went and talked to my parents.”

 

“Talk or yell?”

 

“Talk, sir,” she assures him. “They…uh…” She trails off, rubbing the back of her neck. “They told me about the kidnappin’.”

 

Nedley stands up and slowly walks towards her.

 

Nicole tries to hold back the tears that she knows are forming. “Is it true?” She asks. “Did you save me?”

 

“I just happened to be in the right place at the right time,” Nedley says. “That’s all.”

 

Nicole’s chin starts quivering. “No, you _saved_ me.”

 

“You looked so damn scared,” Nedley tells her. “You were so damn strong through the whole situation, though.”

 

Nicole lets tears fall from her eyes. “You saved me,” she repeats. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

 

Nedley shrugs. “It wasn’t my place,” he replies. “Your parents wanted to be the ones to tell you.”

 

Nicole wipes the tears off of her face. “Thank you,” she pushes out. “Thank you,” she says again, throwing herself at Nedley and wrapping her arms around him. “Thank you for everythin’.”

 

—

 

“Wait,” Wynonna says as she holds the letter in her hand.

 

After they got out of school, Wynonna and Waverly came straight over to Nicole’s house. Mostly because she wasn’t replying to either of their text messages and they were worried.

 

“You have a sister?” Wynonna asks, holding up the letter and pointing at it. “You have a twenty-four-year-old sister?”

 

Nicole nods her head. “I guess I do, yeah.”

 

“Baby,” Waverly breathes out from her spot on Nicole’s bed, “this is huge news.”

 

“That’s not even all of it,” Nicole tells them. “When I was five-years-old, I was kidnapped.”

 

Wynonna drops the letter and blinks more times than Nicole can count.

 

Waverly gets off of Nicole’s bed and stands in front of her, her eyebrows furrowed.

 

Wynonna moves her mouth like she’s going to say something, but nothing comes out.

 

Waverly is frozen in place, unsure of how to handle what she just heard.

 

Nicole sighs. “He took me to Wyoming and I was missin’ for months,” she starts. “My parents didn’t sleep; they didn’t do anythin’ besides search for me. They were broken.” She closes her eyes, as if trying to remember any details she could. She lets out a frustrated sigh when her brain won’t put forth any memories of the situation she has. “Nedley saved me; he _found_ me.” She then goes on to tell them how exactly that was possible. “Years later, when my kidnapper got out of prison, my parents sent me here. They were tryin’ to protect me.”

 

“You were fucking kidnapped?” Wynonna asks, but she already knows the answer. Truth is, she’s stunned. Her best friend was kidnapped; her best friend has a sister; her best friend was saved by none other than Randy Nedley himself.

 

“The nightmares,” Waverly says, reaching for Nicole. She cups her cheeks with her hands and rubs soothing circles on them. “The nightmares you have. Are they…is that why?”

 

Nicole shrugs. “I think so.”

 

“You have nightmares?” Wynonna asks, raising her eyebrows. She _knows_ she sounds like a broken record, but she’s not sure what to say; she’s not sure how to react.

 

Nicole nods.

 

Waverly lets her hands fall to her sides before she leans into Nicole, who wraps an arm around her. “Can I tell her?”

 

“Go ahead.”

 

“She has nightmares almost every night,” Waverly tells Wynonna. “She usually shouts in her sleep. It usually something along the lines of, ‘No! Stop! I wan’t to go home!’” She pauses and looks at Nicole, who is looking at the ground. “She wakes up sweating and breathing heavily.”

 

“How long have you been having nightmares?” Wynonna asks Nicole.

 

Nicole looks at her. “Since I was ten.”

 

“For eight years?!” Wynonna practically shouts. “You’ve been having them for eight years?”

 

Nicole nods. “Look, I don’t wanna talk about the whole kidnappin’ thing right now,” she says, her voice sounding weary. “I know that’s somethin’ I need to deal with, but I can’t right now.” She sighs, untangling herself from Waverly and walking to the other side of her room. “I have a sister,” she says. “I have an older sister and she wants to meet me.”

 

“Do you want to meet her?” Waverly asks, picking up the letter and setting it on Nicole’s bed.

 

“I don’t know,” Nicole admits. “She seems genuine, but I can’t deal with another disappointment right now.”

 

“I think you should,” Wynonna tells her. “I think it’d be good for you.”

 

“You think so?”

 

Wynonna nods her head. “I do; I really do. We could go with you, if you want.”

 

“You really think Gus is goin’ to let you guys come to California with me?”

 

Wynonna shrugs. “Thanksgiving break is coming up,” she starts, “I’m sure she’d let us go.”

 

“Yeah,” Waverly pipes in. “This is important to you, which means it’ll be important to her. I think you’re forgetting how much Gus loves you, babe.”

 

“But she’ll be alone for Thanksgivin’,” Nicole replies. “We can’t leave her alone.”

 

“She won’t be alone,” Wynonna responds. “She’ll have Chrissy and Nedley.”

 

Nicole sighs. “You’re sure about this?”

 

Both Wynonna and Waverly nod their heads.

 

“We’re always here for you, baby,” Waverly tells Nicole as she walks over to her and wraps her arms around her middle.

 

“Yeah,” Wynonna agrees. “When we go down-“

 

“We go down together,” Nicole finishes, a smile a on her face.

 

—

 

“So, Waverly and Nicole, how long have the two of you been together?” William asks as they sit at a table in Shorty’s.

 

Nicole’s parents are sitting across from Waverly and Nicole, while Wynonna is sitting at the end of the table.

 

Nicole smiles. She puts one of her hands on Waverly’s thigh. “Almost four years.”

 

“Wait, so you guys got together when you were a Freshman, Nicole?” Cindy asks, smiling softly.

 

Nicole nods her head. “Yeah.”

 

“You know, your father and I were high school sweethearts,” Cindy tells her. “Your father always told me he was goin’ to marry me one day, when the time was right. The only problem was no one believed that we were each other’s forever; they thought we were too young to know.”

 

“But when you know, you know,” William adds, leaning over and kissing Cindy’s cheek.

 

“They’re _definitely_ going to get married one day,” Wynonna jumps in. “I’m not sure of a lot of things in my life, but I’m sure about them; I always have been.”

 

“You seem like an exceptional girl, Wynonna,” William says. “Thank you for givin’ my little girl the friendship of a lifetime.”

 

Nicole smiles at Wynonna. “Yeah, ‘Nonna, thank you.”

 

“Yeah…I mean…you know…”

 

Nicole laughs softly.

 

“And, Waverly, thank you for lovin’ her like she deserves to be loved,” Cindy says to Waverly.

 

“It’s my pleasure, Mrs. Haught,” Waverly smiles. “She’s easy to love.”

 

Nicole blushes before leaning over and kissing Waverly’s temple. “You’re easy to love, too, baby.”

 

Wynonna looks hard at Nicole’s parents. “So, Mr. and Mrs. Haught,” she starts, “what’re your intentions with my best friend?”

 

“Well,” William says, “we came to Purgatory to tell her everythin’ that we’ve been holdin’ back from tellin’ her.”

 

“And we did that,” Cindy continues for him. “Now, though, we just want to love her. We understand that we’ll have to do that at a distance bein’ we’re not goin’ to force her to come back to Boston.”

 

“Nicole, we’d like to schedule flights every month for us to come here or for you to come to us,” William tells Nicole. “If that’s okay with you?”

 

“That’d be fine, yeah,” she agrees. “I’ve got to tell you guys somethin’, though.”

 

“You can tell us anythin’, Nicole,” her mother assures her.

 

“I want to meet Alex,” she tells them. “Can you book the three of us a flight for the week of Thanksgivin’?”

 

William smiles. “Nothin’ would make us happier.”

 

—

 

Nicole is sitting in her bed, holding a piece of paper and a pen.

 

After dinner, she had said ‘goodbye’ to her parents with a promise to come by their hotel after school tomorrow. Waverly had wanted to stay the night, but Nicole had kindly rejected her. She explained that she needed to be alone for the night and she was relieved when Waverly understood. Wynonna had hugged her and stared at her for a long moment, as if silently telling her that she loves her.

 

For the first time in a long time, Nicole is genuinely happy. She knows she has the kidnapping to deal with, but, right now, she just wants to focus on the fact that her parents _do_ love her; they _do_ care about her. She’s not disposable and she feels like she can finally _breathe_.

 

_Dear Alex,_

 

_I can’t believe that I have an older sister. It’s baffling to me. Our parents say that you’re beautiful and that you remind them of me. I’m glad you reached out to me._

 

_I want to meet you, too. In fact, I’m planning on coming to California during my Thanksgiving break, if that’s okay with you? It’s still a few weeks away, but I just want to make sure that’s okay with you. Also, I plan on bringing my best friend, Wynonna, and my girlfriend, Waverly. They’re both amazing people, who I love with everything in me. I’m sure you know what that feels like, being you have an adopted sister and a girlfriend of your own._

 

_I’m not really good with the whole feelings thing so I’m not sure how I’ll react when we meet. Also, I think it’s awesome that you work for a government agency. After Wynonna and I graduate, we’re planning on joining the Army. We want to give back to our country. Anyway, I can’t wait to meet you. I know we have a lot to unpack between the two of us, but I think we can get through that; I think we can be sisters. Yeah, I want that. I’ll be honest, earlier today, I wasn’t sure I wanted that, but, sitting here, I know that’s exactly what I want._

 

_Your sister, with love,_

 

_Nicole Haught_

 

Nicole folds the letter and slides it into an envelope.

 

What a day.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What'd you guys think?


End file.
